Loopt: Re-Energizing the Deal Business
Street Smart Moves: The single-best deal, assertion, investment or other strategy this week.
Why: For turning the deals dynamic on its head.
“Instead of letting the deals come to you, you create the deals. You’ll think of a deal you want at a favorite spot, request the deal, and Loopt will go to work and try to make it happen… Right now, the ability to request the initial deal is a feature available on Android phones only. Worry not, iPhone users, if you can’t get your Android-touting friend to start a deal for you… this feature will be available soon on the iPhone.“ — The Loopt In blog
What Loopt is doing is almost exactly the answer to John Wannamaker’s famous quote about not knowing which half of his advertising worked (but knowing half did): By letting consumers suggest the items they want deals on, merchants will know what will sell.
Of course, this approach doesn’t help anyone move excess inventory, which is where a daily deal strategy can be handy for merchants, but it’s bringing some nice innovation to an area that, for its newness, has already begun to seem stale.
Do you think Loopt has produced the new secret sauce? Post your view in the comments.