Unstoppable listing of daily deals can make anyone believe that the process will never come to an end. But, critics talk about the other side of the coin warranting cautions in the process that must take care of consumers and fair trade practices and not just top and bottom lines.
Forrester Research Inc. (FORR), broaching the touchy question “Will 2012 be the end of the deal sites?”, advises both retailers and daily deal sites to consider the qualms of conscience while ballyhooing best deals. The exact advice goes as “retailers need to be aware of consumer sentiment and if utilizing these sites be mindful that their investment delivers value and returns”.
The message is explicit do make claim of what can be delivered or otherwise be ready to face the music.
Consumer’s complaints against the daily deal sites as well as retailers are rising as the discount market is expanding. Generally, the complaints are related to fudging discounts, strict criteria that are designed deliberately to discourage redemption, or a number of other unfair trade practices.
Be it U.S., UK, or Australia, all markets witnessing dramatic upsurge in group buying sites spring up as the hotbeds of consumer’s grievances.
For example, Commerce Commission—New Zealand’s competition enforcement and regulatory agency—received average 22.5 complaints against mainly merchants per month between January 01 and June 30, 2011. For October and November, the average was 10 filings.
Usually, the regulatory bodies stress on the need of compliance of rules and regulations by the commercial ventures in question. However, they have yet to tighten noose around the elements fleecing consumers by enforcing laws prescribed particularly for the daily deal industry.
Consumers have to peruse the details before signing up and not to get influenced by the blips of hot deals. On the other hand, daily deal sites ought to examine the deliverability of services before partnering with the merchants to prevent the unpleasant consumer’s experiences.
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