Look out for more localized daily deals in Charlotte, with LivingSocial rolling out more "hyperlocalization" to offer half-off deals at local restaurants, spas, and retail outlets to people who sign up for its contact lists.
The site is similar to Groupon and a host of other daily deal sites that make their money by offering steep discounts in partnership with local merchants. The market for such deals, fueled by the Internet and merchants' desire to draw in new customers during the recession, has exploded into a lucrative, multi-billion dollar affair over the past two years.
Here's how it works: Customers sign up, and the websites alert them to new deals each day. They can buy a coupon for the deal, which usually costs 50 percent or less of the good's face value, and then redeem the coupon with the local merchant. The daily deal company takes a cut of the sale, giving the rest to the merchant.
LivingSocial said Charlotte is one of six markets the company is expanding in, effective Thursday. Although the site has offered deals in Charlotte for some time, LivingSocial said they'll now have more tightly-targeted deals.
"LivingSocial has offered deals in the Charlotte area previously. However, we've found there are certain markets that warrant hyperlocalization," said spokeswoman Maire Griffin, "Meaning deals that are even more focused on neighborhoods. All of our members can manage their subscriptions to receive both Charlotte lists or focus on just one if that fits their life the best,"
The Washington, D.C.-based website recently raised $400 million from investors to fuel its expansion. The company expects more than $1 billion in revenue this year.
Groupon has also been growing rapidly. The company recently completed a $950 million round of financing, and has had discussions with banks about going public with the company valued at $25 billion, according to media reports (like this one). To put that in perspective, Google was valued at "only" $23 billion when it went public in 2004.
Some merchants (like this one) have criticized the daily deal sites for taking too big of a cut, requiring businesses to spend more than they're prepared to on discounts and training customers to shop only for dramatic discounts. But with the daily deal fervor showing no signs of ending anytime soon, such sites seem likely to remain a permanent part of the local retail landscape in one form or another.