[cletus]

Treating GroupOn (and similar costs) as advertising/marketing is indeed the correct approach and certainly one the company pitches.

However, something worth considering: is the GroupOn audience worth buying? Anecdotally the answer seems to be "no" as repeat business is well below expectations, regular customers use the coupons, customers will use coupons at times when you'd otherwise be busy and the typical profile of the GroupOn customer suggests they tend to spend the absolute minimum for the coupon.

Honestly I'm shocked the GroupOn IPO is oversubscribed. Still, probably not bad for an opening day sell.