LivingSocial Moving Beyond Daily Deals, Analysts Feelings on Zynga’s New Games & Groupon’s Competition Intensifies

Daily Deal Media News Social Commerce News for June 29th, 2012 LivingSocial Moving Beyond Daily Deals for Consumers One Word Sums up Analysts Feelings on Zynga’s New Games – DullsVille Groupon’s Competition Intensifies – Sustainability Questioned Once Again GetHired.com Turns Hiring Into a Daily “Deal Mindwork Labs Invests $780,000 After Purchasing MyDeals.com Signpost Offering Cheaper Deal Site Alternative Groupon iPhone App Error LivingSocial Tax Breaks Approved by D.C. Council Mobile Masses Huddle Around Social Networks for Ann Curry News Social Gifting Service, GroupGifting.com Launches MyGiftWand DailyGifts LivingSocial Moving Beyond Daily Deals for Consumers One of the common questions surrounding the future of deal sites is their ability to evolve, to offer more than just deals for every day consumers. LivingSocial has often talked about moving beyond its traditional offerings and is now dropping hints about what’s next for the company.   Starting this summer the Washington D.C. based deal site will begin testing new technology products designed to help smaller businesses run more efficiently.    LivingSocial executives did not offer specifics regarding the new services, but said they will be aimed at digital marketing, customer loyalty and point-of-sale operations. This is not the first time LivingSocial has gone beyond the usual discount restaurant and activities vouchers. The website now offers deals on classes and events that occur at an event space owned and operated by LivingSocial.  The company formed a merchant solutions division last year designed to relationships with District businesses... Brought to you by ... One Word Sums up Analysts Feelings on Zynga's New Games – DullsVille ZNGA shares continue to fall The writing was on the wall before Zynga’s media day event ended and the share pricing reflected the overwhelming conclusion that Zynga’s newly introduced games underwhelmed analysts. ZNGAshares began Tuesday by gapping higher and then stalling at the $6.35 as the media event played out. In spite of a positive day for the general markets, ZNGA reversed direction on huge volume and closed the Tuesday session down $ .30 at $ 5.77 on 59.8 million shares (262% above normal daily volume). There were several analysts’ comments regarding direction and reasoning. Interestingly enough, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on the social gamer with a buy rating and $8.50 target price. Analyst Jordan Rohan wrote the company’s current stock price “does not reflect the strategic value of comprising a meaningful portion of Facebook’s revenues,” as well as its potential to launch other hit games. ZNGA shares are continuing lower today, shares were last trading down $ .22 (3.6%) at $5.55 only $ .77 away from the most recent ALL time low.   The new games are underwhelming According to those that attended the event, “Zynga’s media day clearly disappointed investors and we see few near-term catalysts to make the stock work from here,” wrote Ben Schachter of Macquarie, who rates the shares as neutral.  Groupon's Competition Intensifies – Sustainability Questioned Once Again Building a better mouse trap Groupon Incorporated continues to be an ongoing topic of conversation when it comes to daily dealings. The company has faced and continues to face a set of unique problems since its initial public offering (IPO). Most are internal issues. Companies that have been watching Groupon’s performance during the past several months have learned a boatload from the company’s mistakes. Remember the adage of “all one has to do to become a millionaire is to build a better mousetrap.” While some may look upon Groupon as a ‘mousetrap’, the bottom line is that they are NOT. The company’s business model involves no propriety technology, and because of that Groupon lacks the ability to sustain its competitive edge. There is no question, at least for now, that Groupon is the gorilla in its market but it does not have a major advantage in marketing. Many may argue that Groupon has a massive user base; my response is what good is a ‘massive user base’ if the company’s overall engagement continues to diminish? Unlike the original mousetrap, the company does not have any sustainable competitive advantage. A truly sustainable competitive advantage is not just about being the gorilla of the year. All of the super companies that exist today have offered much more than that. Those that don’t reel in the egos, go by the wayside – Atari, Sega, Circuit City. Lined up for a slice of the G pie Right now, there are literally hundreds of Groupon clones lined up across the United States and each one is taking a little nibble out of the Groupon pie... Daily Deal Media LLC 700 Tower Dr Suite 500, Troy MI 48098 Direct: (248)247-3580 Email: info@dailydealmedia.com Web: http://dailydealmedia.com Be a fan on Facebook Follow us on Twitter RSS Feed

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