Skift Take
Travel is still a relatively small portion of the overall Groupon business, although the segment notched solid revenue growth in the third quarter. The issue for Groupon in travel is whether a standalone app will make much of a difference as the popularity of flash sales seems to be diminishing.
Groupon realized that travelers are more likely to use a travel-specific app than a general-purpose app that includes travel so the company launched a standalone travel app, available to iPhone and Android users in the U.S. and Canada.
The new Getaways app is similar to the existing travel offering in the Groupon app, although the Getaways app enables users to search by trip theme and deals under $99, and also has a map-search capability for hotels within a 30-mile radius.
The travel offerings in both the Getaways and Groupon apps offer flash sales, hotels in destinations around the world and mobile-exclusive deals.
“By launching a standalone experience, we can add new features much quicker and build a more dedicated and focused experience just for travelers as evidenced by the new search features,” says Nicholas Halliwell, a Groupon spokesperson. “The travel experience in the main Groupon app does not change.”
Travel represented about 6% of Groupon’s total revenue in the third quarter of 2014. In the quarter, Groupon’s travel revenue grew 34.8% to $49.1 million.
For all of its offerings in aggregate, including goods, local and travel, Groupon states that about half of its transactions take place through mobile devices.
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Tags: apps, flash sales, groupon
Photo credit: Groupon launched a standalone travel app called Getaways. Pictured (at right) is the existing travel offering within the main Groupon app.