According to a latest report from Chinese group buying service aggregator Tuan800, the total volume generated by Chinese mainstream group buying sites in Jan. and Feb. reached a new high, RMB 4.3 billion (source in Chinese). The volume of transactions in January hit the record with RMB 2.32 billion, 30.2% up of the average monthly transactions in 2012. The figure as of February slid down to RMB 2 billion due to the CNY holiday when most Chinese stay home with families.
The movie ticket deals are the black horse. 16 million people nationwide contributed to a total of RMB 445 million in Jan. and Feb.. Those seats bought on group buy sites accounted for 11.9% of the total box office, RMB 3.75 billion.
Another driving force is a new mode, ‘mobile clients + reservation-free deals”, that enables users to use discounts anytime, anywhere. It seems to be a promising model. The usually low-margin business sees more profits, 40%-80% in margin, here.
According to Tuan800, only 943 group buying sites are alive compared to the peak record, 5058. For now, the survival rate is 18.6%.
image credit: hudong.com