Competitive Advantage or Market Saturation: An In-Depth Comparison of Flash-Sale Sites Through Content Analysis

Abstract

This study aims to identify the representativeness of hospitality and service industry firms on flash-sale sites such as Groupon and LivingSocial. Currently, academic findings related to the frequency of offerings from these firms are nonexistent. This research relied upon a content analysis rubric and daily measurement of offerings from randomly selected cities represented by Groupon and LivingSocial for a period of 6 weeks. The daily offerings for specific cities on the Groupon and LivingSocial sites were utilized as the primary data sources. Findings indicate firms in these industries, outside of restaurants, have shunned away from offering their services via flash-sale mediums. The research findings demonstrate restaurants frequently utilize flash sales as a promotional tool. However, the abundant representation of these types of firms has created a scenario in which operators are compelled to offer deep discounts to make their offers competitive with offers from competing firms in the same city.