Michael Shim, vice president of mobile partnerships at Groupon, said Groupon could be making half its sold/purchased deals on mobile platforms a couple years from now. If his prediction holds true, that would mean a significant amount of advertising dollars would be spent on mobile advertising, Tricia Duryee reported in All Things Digital.
Groupon is huge. Rumors that it could be valued at $15-$25 billion when Groupon goes public later this year leave no doubt it is a force with which to be reckoned.
Groupon Now, the mobile app that launched earlier this month in Chicago, gives users special offers from businesses near their locations. You click a button, “I’m Bored,” or “I’m Hungry,” and off you go to a list of nearby deals, Priti Ambani reported at the Ecopreneurist. It joins a growing list of apps supported by mobile marketing dollars like Living Social and Foursquare..
At the same time, the number of smartphone users is growing too. It’s been estimated by In-Stat that half of all new phones shipped to the U.S. in 2012 will be smartphones.
The global mobile marketing and advertising market is estimated to grow from $2.25 billion in 2009 to $17.9 billion in 2015, a 41 percent growth rate, according to research from Berg Insight.
I wonder if the predicted growth in mobile marketing through services like Groupon Now will mean other companies with apps or mobile websites will begin incorporating location-based marketing.
Perhaps news media companies, for example, will have advertising that works similarly to how Groupon Now’s does.
