"Deal of the day": An analysis of subscriber purchase behavior. (April 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Boon, Edward; Pitt, Leyland; Ofek, Nir
• Is Part Of: Tourism and hospitality research. Volume 15:Number 2(2015:Apr.)
• Page Start: 105
• Page End: 114
• Publication Date: 2015-04
• Subjects: Deal of the day -- purchase behavior -- social coupons -- sales promotion -- e-commerce -- database analysis; Tourism -- Management -- Periodicals; Hospitality industry -- Management -- Periodicals; 338.4791068
• DOI: 10.1177/1467358414567798
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1467-3584

Abstract

Deal of the day is a form of sales promotion that offers merchants the possibility to promote their product at a discount to a mailing list of subscribers that is managed by an intermediary. The objective of the study presented in this paper is to learn more about the development of deal of the day and to assess its attractiveness for merchants. For this purpose, the study examines the purchase history database of a small Swiss deal website. The key findings are: the deal of the day industry is still growing steadily, and late subscribers are as attractive as early adopters; most subscribers buy only one deal or none at all; and only a minority of subscribers buys deals frequently enough to be labeled as high-frequency purchasers. The findings offer insight into the past and future development of deal of the day and show that there are segments within the subscriber base that intermediaries need to treat differently.