We often tend to think of Groupon and LivingSocial as two similar daily deal sites competing for the same market share of consumers but in actuality the two are quite different and as a recent Nielsen study tells us each site attracts its own unique crowd of consumers in terms of demographics. The study offers insights into age, income and interest of the two diverse groups.
The study shows that LivingSocial users have a higher income than Groupon users, with almost 50 percent likely to earn $150,000 or more a year, while Groupon has about 30 percent of its users in the same income bracket.
Groupon attracts an older audience with 57 percent in the 35 to 64 age range compared to LivingSocial with 51 percent within the same age group. One third of LivingSocial users are younger, falling into the 21 to 34 age bracket with Groupon claiming only a quarter of their consumer base in the younger group. While both sites also offer deals nationwide, Groupon has a higher concentration of users located in the Northeast with LivingSocial grabbing a larger segment of the South and Pacific regions.
One thing that both sites do have in common is that their users are predominantly female. Women dominate the two group buying sites by about two-thirds.
Amazingly and despite the fact that both sites are noted for offering an abundance of restaurant, spa and entertain type deals, the most significant area of interest for those looking for a deal was gardening, with over 45 percent having an interest in that specific category. Approximately one third of users were shopping for religious, landscaping and home improvement deals, the latter two being closely connected to the gardening category.
Both Groupon and LivingSocial are based on sharing deals with friends and family through various social networking platforms and also provide incentives through credits and free deals. The Nielsen study shows that users of daily deal sites are a third more likely to actively participate in social networking.
Source: Nielsenwire
