PHILIPPINES, DECEMBER 2010 – Many wired Filipinos may have heard of deal-a-day websites with limited-time offers for generous product discounts. Subscribers of the website may avail of the discount on certain conditions, by simply paying in advance or having a number of other subscribers avail of the same discount. The website earns on a commission basis, or when companies pay to be featured on the site. Popular local groupon sites include CashCashPinoy, Buyanihan, and the recently-launched Awesome.ph. Asian franchises are starting to set up shop in Manila, Thailand-based ensogo.ph and Twangoo of Hong Kong.
But the biggest news is the arrival of Groupon from the United States, one of the largest deal-of-the-day websites and said to be the tech surprise of the year. Groupon’s success in the United States caught the attention of Google, who made an initial offer of $5.3 billion, with a $700 million earn-out to buy the company. Groupon turned down the offer early this month, much to business analysts’ surprise. The company is finishing up financing worth $950 million.
Since turning down Google’s offer, Groupon has looked to Asia, opening Groupon websites for Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. In the Philippines, Groupon has a presence through Beeconomic.
Filipinos are not big on the coupon marketing which preceded the deal-a-day websites and using credit cards online, but with discount-obsessed Pinoys hooked on their computers and additional payment options, sites such as Beeconomic can make it big. Hang on to your e-purses, this is going to get interesting.
