[phillian]

Via anecdotal comments from business owners I've spoken with here in Philadelphia, most Groupon participants reported no long term increase in sales.

The beauty of Groupon was it's timing, gaining massive ground during the worst recession the country has seen. Business owners would do anything short of giving products or services away for free to get people in their stores.

Their Groupon exposure certainly filled their store for that day, but often at the expense of the business owner (at least two SMB I talked to reported the event cost them more than it brought in) and didn't result in a long term increase as hoped.

The longevity of their profits therefor, if this is more than anecdotal, is indeed in question.

[bobf]

Is "no long term increase in sales" amidst "the worst recession the country has seen" actually as bad as it sounds? Maybe Groupon actually saved them from a decline in sales?