While recent reports have indicated that some merchants may be tiring of the daily deals craze, the online shopping phenomenon created by Groupon remains a favorite of consumers. The hugely successful model has also spawned dozens of clone companies, and even some entries from among the Web's most established properties.
The latest to join the fray is none other than AOL, which has announced the upcoming launch of daily deal site Wow.com. Yelp is another high-profile Web company that has recently entered the space, while another notable addition is OpenTable. Back in July, Amazon acquired daily deal site Woot for more than $100 million to establish its foothold on the rapidly developing market.
But none have enjoyed the success of Groupon, which is expected to bring in more than $350 million in just its second year of existence. Along with Groupon's meteoric success have come some important lessons for merchants about the potential perils of poorly managed or badly suited daily deals.
It's too early to say what kind of parameters AOL has in store for its merchant partners on Wow, but the company is actively pursuing such relationships on the new site's homepage. For consumers, Wow will offer daily savings on dining, shopping and outings at both the local and national level.