In the last half-decade, online group buying has gained tremendously in popularity. Actually, it’s true that in more recent years the frenzy has died down a little. Still, group buying represents amazing discount opportunities for savvy shoppers.
Names like Groupon and LivingSocial are probably old news to you. But did you ever wonder about the origins of group buying? Here are three insightful fun facts you may not have known about group buying. Besides from being informative, the team at LetsPool! thinks they can inspire the way you shop (and sell!).
(1) Group Buys were originally called tuángòu
Group buying is traced back to China where 團購 (tuángòu) or “team buying” was established to get discount prices from a vendor when a large group of people was willing to buy the same item. In China, friends and possibly strangers would connect online, agreeing to approach a vendor in order to collectively bargain.
A significant difference with how group buying most often happens today is that people didn’t impulsively react to deal-of-the-day offers. No middleman was involved. Individuals carefully planned group buying activities on items that were important to them. The absence of a middleman made a true win-win situation for both vendors and buyers.
(2) Several African cultures group-buy almost everything
Without the widespread uptake of desktop and mobile internet, several African countries have a culture of group buying offline. In countries like Cameroon, over 90% of the population group-buy everything from taxi rides, to packets of cigarettes, to boxes of sugar! It’s not a fad, it’s simply a way of life.
The most interesting thing about this model of commerce is that customers get to pay less individually, but the vendor or service provider gets to make more money!
If you’re a vendor who wants to learn more about this model and how to make it work for you, schedule a free consultation with group buying experts at LetsPool!
(3) Businesses in New Zealand have been group buying since 1963
Yup. Eat your heart out. In 1963, the Government Stores Board was privatized. Following this, the group buying power of the agency was opened up to private businesses, enabling these businesses to benefit from significant purchasing power. Now trading as n3, the company has over 12,000 member businesses and is New Zealand’s largest group buying network.
If your business relies on purchases from suppliers, you should be thinking about teaming up with similar businesses to access significant supply discounts.
To sum it all up, here’s a cute little infographic you can share with your friends. We’d love to hear what your thoughts about group buying are. Tweet us a comment at @lets_pool.
Group Buying Insights: 3 Fun Facts
I hope you’ve gathered some lessons from these group buying insights. One of the biggest group buying mistakes is simply failing to learn the best practices. Perhaps it’s time to rethink the way you shop (and sell!) and make sure you’re doing it the smart, economic way.
