Groupon for Great Local Deals

A friend of mine turned me onto Groupon about five months ago. I am thankful for that tip every time I scoop up one of their great deals. I thought that I was the last to know. But, as I’ve since introduced Groupon to several equally unenlightened friends, I thought that it would be worth a mention here, just in case you were also in the dark about this great coupon site…

What is Groupon? It’s an online deal-of-the-day/group-buy website that offers city-specific deals (usually between 40% to 60% off) with a whole panoply of local businesses.  Each daily deal only gets activated if a certain number of people buy into it (which is almost always). What did I get so far? Great discounts at restaurants of all types and price points, half price off ballet tickets, museum memberships, a chocolate tour, basketball tickets for my son and nine of his friends… As a new implant in the city, I particularly love Groupon offers because it gives me a really good “excuse” to discover new services and entertainment venues in Chicago.

Groupon started in November 2008 and, hardly more than a year later, is already covering 30 markets, with more on the way. It is as great a deal for local businesses looking to gain more exposure as it is a great incentive for consumers looking to discover new businesses that they probably wouldn’t have tried or known about otherwise.

You can subscribe or follow Groupon on Twitter or Facebook to get the daily deals. If you are in Chicago, I know about other similar websites such as YouSwoop.com, ChiTownDeals.com and WeGivetoGet.com (this last one gives back to Chicago charitable organizations) that also provide substantial discounts to a variety of local businesses. You’ll have to investigate what other offerings are in your own area. Totally worth it, especially as we all look to become smarter consumers.