We've been researching social shopping and have done a few recent posts on the topic.  The leader in this space is the start-up Groupon, which just raised $125 million and is valued at over $1 billion. 

Groupon is an online collective buying service.  Groupon subscribers get emails with deal offers from local businesses.  The deals are generally discounted.  For example, a recent San Francisco Groupon offer was $50 for a child photography session normally costing $295.

Groupon's business is exploding and they are in 30 cities today, with plans to expand to 80 by the end of the year. 

The question this begs is why aren't local newspapers doing this?  It seems to me they are ideally positioned for this business.   They have a large base of subscribers.  They have existing relationships with local advertisers.  Most have trusted brands, or at least trusted enough to be in this business. 

When local newspapers did not respond to Craigslist I disagreed with their decision making but understood it.  They didn't want to cannibalize their existing classified ad business.

In the case of social shopping, I have no idea why they aren't aggressively pursuing it.

Anyone know, or have ideas or theories?


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