Groupon Expands Presence in Canada With Launch in Vancouver

Upcoming Features Include Culinary Tour, Local Museum and Popular Spa

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Groupon (http://www.groupon.com), a shopping website that offers a daily deal on the best local goods, services and cultural events, launched in Vancouver on April 26, 2010. In its first week, the site sold nearly 2,000 Groupons, saving local residents $25,000.

“We offer the consumer a great deal they can’t get anywhere else and deliver the sales directly to the merchant.”

“As the largest metropolitan center in Western Canada and a ‘city of neighbourhoods,’ Vancouver is an ideal city to launch Groupon," said Groupon founder Andrew Mason. “We’ll help residents and visitors save money on the best Vancouver has to offer while introducing new customers to top local merchants."

Using the principles of collective buying, Groupon negotiates unprecedented deals with top businesses. Groupon subscribers receive free daily emails alerting them to the deal. These deals are only activated if a minimum number of people agree to buy, encouraging subscribers to share the promotion with family and friends via social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter. By guaranteeing a large number of new customers, Groupon creates a win-win for local merchants. So far, this innovative approach to e-commerce has generated millions in revenue for local businesses while saving more than four million subscribers more than $170 million USD.

“Groupon brings buyers and sellers together in a fun and collaborative way,” said Mason. “We offer the consumer a great deal they can’t get anywhere else and deliver the sales directly to the merchant.”

Vancouver is Groupon’s fifty-second city. During its first week in the area, Groupon's featured deals included restaurants, a yoga studio, a florist and a cinema; upcoming deals include a culinary tour, a local museum and a popular spa. Groupon established an international presence in Canada last month with the launch of Toronto.

About Groupon

Groupon, launched in November 2008 in Chicago, features a daily deal on the best stuff to do, eat, see, and buy in major cities across the U.S. and in Canada, with plans to be in 100 cities by the end of 2010. Groupon uses collective buying power to offer unbeatable prices and provide a win-win for businesses and consumers. Groupon is a project of The Point (http://www.thepoint.com), an online community launched in 2007 for organizing group action.

To get Groupon’s daily free email for the best in your city, subscribe at http://www.groupon.com.

To get the Groupon iPhone app, visit http://gr.pn/moblapp.

To learn how to become a featured business on Groupon, visit http://www.grouponworks.com.