After Groupon turned down Facebook’s $6+ billion offer, the obvious happened today. Facebook launched the new version of “Deals” which incorporates the local business advertising and coupon model that is Groupon’s cornerstone. This new offering brings me to a question that we get continuously. “Is Groupon the 800-pound gorilla in social commerce?” I think the more appropriate question is whether Groupon is really social commerce at all.
During the “Dot Com Boom,” eCommerce was all the rage. Every brand was scrambling to build an eCommerce site, with some outrageously expensive vendors chomping at the bit to help them out. Major players – such as ATG, IBM, Microsoft and BEA – offered varying flavors of eCommerce solutions. For example, ATG’s strong personalization and targeting capabilities were pitted against IBM’s infrastructure play. At the same time, Web Content Management vendors – such as Interwoven, BroadVision, Vignette and others – found traction in key markets. Vignette focused heavily in publishing, while Interwoven leveraged their decoupled architecture to integrate with the big eCommerce vendors. Services firms had soaring digital practices, with eCommerce dominating the landscape. I was personally involved with implementations for brands ranging from Walgreens to American Airlines to AT&T Broadband and many others.
Then, the bubble burst…
