Groupon for good
A former Webloyalty executive has launched a daily deal service under which consumers can specify a charity to receive a small donation when they make their purchases ”“ akin to a “Groupon for good” model.
BuySaveGive.com CEO Marty Isaac previously was head of marketing for Norwalk-based Webloyalty Inc. and before that CUC International, the predecessor company to Stamford-based Affinion Group, which acquired Webloyalty last year. Further back, he was an employee with General Electric Co.
Chief operating officer Tamra Lichtman worked with Webloyalty and Shutterstock.
When a consumer subscribes free and selects a preferred cause, Trumbull-based BuySaveGive.com will automatically donate $1 to that cause up front. For each discount voucher the consumer buys afterward, BuySaveGive.com will donate up to 20 percent of the purchase price to the consumer”™s preferred cause, with the percentage discount increasing in relation to how much they spend.
In addition to organizations vetted by Charity Navigator and Guidestar, the company includes Fairfield County schools on its list of approved causes, and is happy to entertain suggestions for other nonprofits.
To date, consumers are supporting a wide range of area charities including P.A.W.S., Swim Across the Sound and Kids In Crisis, to name a few; not to mention national organizations such as the American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America and the Wounded Warrior Project. Â BuySaveGive makes all its donations to JustGive, a 501(c)(3) donor advised fund, which then directs each donation to the causes designated by BuySaveGive’s customers.
Companies that have signed on to date include Snap Fitness in Newtown, Junk Solutions in Stamford and Russell Speeder”™s Carwash in Stratford.
BuySaveGive.com is just one of a small multitude of daily deal sites being launched nationally in the footsteps of Groupon, with the jury still out on their effectiveness in generating business for merchants.
Last year, Cornell University researchers published a study on the effect daily deals had on restaurant patron loyalty. The conclusion was that daily deals succeed in luring additional customers and that they help boost brand awareness, but that they also increase restaurant costs who must increase stock and staff for the bigger demand. As the case with standard coupons, daily deals also risk “cannibalizing” customers that would pay full price anyway.
Perhaps most importantly, Cornell”™s team theorized that daily deal customers like to try new things, which plays into Isaac”™s theory that philanthropic-minded shoppers will want to try BuySaveGive.com.
Isaac said merchants have been positive so far with the company avoiding the steep discounts sought by Groupon, LivingSocial and some other deal websites. Isaac said his staff works to make sure merchants will make money on each transaction, while still structuring discounts that will lure in customers. In short, the more customers spend, they more they will save ”“ and of course, the more money they will generate for a charitable cause.
Isaac admits the daily deal market is swiftly becoming saturated ”“ every few days, a website called DailyDealMedia posts a new entry in its directory ”“ but thinks BuySaveGive.com”™s cause-driven approach will resonate amid the din.
“We”™re getting an excellent response,” Isaac said. “People are much more familiar to the daily deal marketplace as a result of Groupon and LivingSocial ”¦ (but) we don”™t go in saying ”˜We”™re a different Groupon or LivingSocial.”™”
[Editor’s note:Â This is a clarified version of an original article that ran online and in print, noting the participation of JustGive in disbursing funds.]