by Anjali Lai

Earlier this week, Groupon celebrated its fifth birthday — and its party was certainly hard to miss. The countdown to the big day began last week, when my daily deal emails arrived with pomp and circumstance — images of crowns in the subject lines, extra exclamation points in the text, and heavy promotions based on the need to celebrate. On November 4, Groupon gave out $5 million in “Groupon Bucks” to thank its customers for fueling its five-year evolution from daily deal provider to searchable marketplace.

But the party isn't stopping there. The company continues to identify marketplace opportunities and engage its consumers in a seamless, meaningful way. Groupon’s recently redesigned mobile application and website aim to enhance user experience and allow the company to start optimizing its audience potential. Forrester’s Consumer Technographics® data shows that Groupon's US online customers are a particularly valuable target, as they spent around $200 more shopping online in the past three months than the average US online consumer:

In a recent report, my colleague Sucharita Mulpuru says that daily deal websites are investment priorities of note for retailers because they “give retailers an opportunity to offer their shoppers the rapid paths to purchase that have been the competitive advantage of other web pure plays such as Amazon.com for years.” With an established niche, and a valuable, captive audience, Groupon kicks off its next five-year plan poised to stay competitive among a crowding marketplace of eCommerce and mCommerce platforms.