Groupon is abandoning its physical goods store
Groupon will no longer sell physical stuff like toys, beauty products, clothing, electronics, or household items, the company announced on Tuesday. Instead, the deals site will go back to focusing on experiences after another lackluster financial quarter where revenue fell 23 percent.
“We believe our plan to exit goods will allow us to dedicate the focus and resources necessary to build a winning position as the purchase of experiences continues to migrate online,” Groupon CEO Rich Williams said in a statement.
The decision to stop selling physical products comes as the company realized it was competing in a saturated market dominated by giant retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and eBay. Consumers just didn’t think of Groupon as the place to go to buy clothes and accessories, even if prices were a bit better. (An iPad Pro Smart Cover for the older 10.5-inch model, for example, goes for $33.99 on Groupon, $49.99 on Best Buy, and $39.99 on Amazon.)
Groupon also wasn’t exactly a retail destination for the most coveted items; a quick browse through its Groupon Goods homepage shows mostly cheap items like chargers, Q-Tip dispensers, socks — basically, things you’d buy as stocking stuffers for people you don’t really know.
The company will discontinue selling items in the US by the third quarter and globally by the end of the year. So if you see any good deals on cheap battery packs or coffee pods, these are the last months to snatch them up.
Groupon will no longer sell physical stuff like toys, beauty products, clothing, electronics, or household items, the company announced on Tuesday. Instead, the deals site will go back to focusing on experiences after another lackluster financial quarter where revenue fell 23 percent. “We believe our plan to exit goods will…
