Group Buying Website Consumer Behavior

Consumer Behavior

Simon Breysse, Camille Challier, Maria Eun Jung Kim, Paula Roth, Scott Polisky

I. A statement of a new trend in consumer behavior, including why the issue is important and interesting to group

We consider that group buying, and more specifically online group buying, is a new trend in consumer behavior. Indeed, more and more people are nowadays using internet and try to save money via discounts while having access to a larger range of products and offers. Group buying websites like Groupon, Meituan, OpenTable, Fantong or online private outlets for clothes or bags are booming nowadays.

In China, in 2011, in the span of one year, the number of group-buying websites in China has expanded from one to nearly 5,000, with over 42.2 million group-buying users. The top 20 sites (such as 55tuan, Lashou, Ftuan, Meituan, 58tuan or Dianping) occupy more than 96 percent of the overall market share, leaving 3,800 smaller players fighting fiercely for the remainder. Chinese customers want in priority to get discounts and to have access to a broad range of products. However, rudimentary functions and cluttered interface of those websites limits users’ ability to find attractive deals and explore relevant products and services.

In Europe and in the United States, the recession has drastically changed the way people spend their money and maintaining lifestyle while scaling back on costly products or services has become the end game for many recession-faced consumers. That is why customers are increasingly using websites such as Groupon, Opentable and other online private outlets websites in order to get discounts and to save money, while having a better shopping experience.

II. A brief description of the methodology and results employed in your research about the new trend, such as focus study, in-depth interview, survey, second-hand data, etc.

We will attempt to describe the new trend of Group Buying Website. In order to broaden our own...