The ultra-crowded online-coupon market became a bit less crowded this week, as one major website has shut down its daily deals service, while another is greatly cutting back.
According to Bloomberg, Facebook decided to end its Facebook Deals service last week, while Yelp announced yesterday that it will cut its sales staff for Yelp Deals by 50%. The article mentions that in July alone, 38 daily-deal sites shut down, with the industry having a 7% revenue drop from June in major North American markets (information supplied to Bloomberg by Yipit Inc.). Currently, Groupon and LivingSocial seem to be the two major players in the industry, which includes discounts on restaurants, bars, hotels, retail shops, services, and more.
Facebook began their deals service this past spring, while Yelp started its deals program last summer.
For more information on this story, please go to the Bloomberg link below.
Yelp Scales Back Deal Service as Competition Rises for Internet Coupons
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