LivingSocial targets family-friendly deals as group buying site users demand more focused deals

Group buying sites will begin targeting more niche demographics instead of continuing the “one size fits all” approach, industry players are predicting, as some of the largest sites in the country start branching out into smaller, more focused approaches.

The predictions come as Jump On It, the Australian branch of international group buying player LivingSocial, has announced it will begin a mailing list designed for family-friendly deals.

“We have found that families believe there isn’t a product catered to them as much,” says Jump On It chief Colin Fabig. “We think there’s a gap to shoot off from the main LivingSocial site.”

The move comes after Catch of the Day has flagged its own grocery-based website, and a number of smaller sites have been founded purely with the intention of offering deals around a particular theme, such as deals for businesses, or even deals for cars.

Fabig says the company has been hearing from customers who say they want to see more deals that are designed for a specific group.

“We’ve actually had feedback through our customer deals. The first day we put out an email asking if people would sign up, and we had about 10,000 sign up on that first one. We knew from that there is a market.”

The LivingSocial families site will offer coupons for activities and services marketed to families, such as trips to zoos, aquariums, art classes and other types of day trips. The deals will also be available for one week, rather than just one day as is the usual method for group buying sites.

Depending on the success of the site, Fabig says the company will start looking into other dedicated offers as well.

“We’re definitely launching verticals, and finding more verticals, and that’s something we think will go really well.”

“We’re also looking at something in the adventure space, so adventures for adults aimed on the activity side and adrenaline junkies. People want to go out with their friends to have good experiences.”

Fabig says some potential deals could include a group of friends going rock climbing and then visiting a micro-brewery afterwards for a day trip. “That side of the whole experiences market is popping up here.”

The comments come just one day after new figures from Telsyte show there are now 51 group buying sites operating in Australia, with only eight taking up 90% of the market’s revenue. However, Telsyte senior research manager Sam Yip told SmartCompany that many of these sites will actually survive as they focus on more niche-based offers in smaller locations.

“Most people just mash it up,” Fabig says. “But consumers are now starting to say they want sites to focus on different, specific areas.”