Would You Want to Be a Groupon VIP?

Groupon has begun testing a premium subscription service, dubbed “Groupon VIP” which allows its users to delve deeper into the deals that Groupon offers.

For $29.99 a year, you can have first dibs on new deals that could potentially sell out, giving you first priority for making reservation at highly desired places. Also included, is access to past deals that sold out, and the ability to get refunds for deals after their expiration date.

The premium subscription is being tested with users in the Chicago area and was first reported by Business Insider, which hosted the Social Commerce Summit last week in New York.

Groupon isn’t the first major deal site to launch a premium service. LivingSocial began testing “LivingSocial Plus” during the 2011 holiday season, and charges a $20 monthly fee in exchange for a $25 credit towards deals and access to offers that have expired.

What problems could solve? It could ease the concept of “deal fatigue” says John Pletz of Crain’s Chicago Business. With email inboxes overflowing with deals, frequent buyers may have the tendency to forget about a deal and it may expire. On the other hand, users who don’t buy frequently would have access to deals that have sold out because of their high level of desirability.

Peter Krasilovsky, a San Diego-based analyst at researcher BIA/Kelsey says “Having people commit to buying at least one offer a month keeps frequency going. They don’t want people to get out of the buying habit.”

This service may not be pleasing to merchants, who already are discounting heavily. “It’s already an issue with merchants who want to keep a limited window on deals,” he said; “they like being able to close those offers.”

So, would you subscribe?  What would it take for you to be a “daily deals VIP”?

Source: Crain’s Chicago Business