In a piece of interesting trend-watch spotting, groups of disparate consumers in China are organizing on a single mission – to use mob power to negotiate group discounts at retail shops and showrooms. Groups meet online at a variety of websites like TeamBuy, Taobao and Liba and then agree on a time and place. The websites make money from ad revenues and/or commissions from suppliers.
Springwise asks, “So who’s going to introduce this concept in San Francisco, Toronto, Sao Paulo, Barcelona or Sydney? The PR value from being the first to do this outside China will be priceless. And may we suggest that the future founders turn it into a hybrid online/offline model, going for maximum reach and visibility?”
I wonder if these groups negotiate a discount for a specific product – or just a general percentage off. Specific product discounts work great for home electronics, but I’m not sure I want 800 people besides myself walking away with the same Chloe purse.
