Groupon's been a mixed-feelings company lately. On the one hand, it is still one of the late boomers in the industry. On the other hand, there are some issues with the stock market entrance being postponed and accumulating stories about unhappy clients (for Groupon these are the firms/shops providing the offer).
Although there is a vast literature about the malleability of promotions in the long term, this is even worse for services I believe. Promotions can always invoke feelings of suspicion about a product's actual price. Suppose people doubt the price for your goods, then maybe they are still willing to pay a subjectively overpriced product in the future given high customer satisfaction. If there is some behind-the-scenes production involved, people are willing to pay a higher price. So far so good, for actual goods being offered on Groupon.
