Hundreds Of Thousands Gang Up On Retailers Over The Weekend

March 2, 2010 - PRLog -- A revolutionary new website launched last Wednesday, which uses the new-to-the-UK concept of ‘Group Buying Power’ to help Brits save huge amounts of money. More than 180,000 people have logged on to the website with a view to saving between 50-90% on the best things to do, see, buy and eat in their city, since launch.



The Group Buying Power concept has caught on in just a few days according to www.Groupola.com founder Mark Pearson, also the founder of the UK’s current leading discount website, www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, which more than 11 million people use every single month.



The website promotes regional and national deals in eight UK cities at present, namely London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Brighton, Liverpool, Manchester and Bristol.



The concept works due to Groupola.com’s ability to bargain a deal with regional and national companies and retailers. The retailer then promises a fantastic discount, as long as a certain number of users commit to buying the deal at the discounted rate – known as the ‘tipping point’. If the ‘tipping point’ is not met, the deal is void, and there is no financial obligation for the consumer, Groupola or the company offering the discount. There is no upper limit on the number of consumers who can commit to a deal, unless otherwise stated.



More than 130,000 people have signed up since launch to receive daily updates about savings in their area. Deals so far on the website include between 50-90% off restaurants, theatres, experience days, salons, spa days and more.



The site has grown at a quicker rate than MyVoucherCodes, already experiencing over 450% more traffic than the discount website after the same amount of time.



Groupola.com works because of ‘group buying power’, a new-to-the-UK way to save money, that will give users the ability to save money on the things they ‘love to do’.



Here’s how it works:



1)    Every day, Groupola.com will feature a fantastic deal in each of the eight cities it is launching in. The deals will occasionally be national in terms of reach, but predominantly regional and city-specific, to really harness the community saving aspect

2)    If enough people commit to the deal, the company offering it will honour the deal, which will be anything from 50-90% off full price



There are also weekly deals on site, offering users equally fantastic deals.



Users in Mark Pearson’s home city Liverpool have been quickest to take to the concept, with more than 34,000 people already opting to receive the email updates.



Mark Pearson, managing director of Groupola.com had the following to say,



“The sheer volume of sign-ups proves to me that the concept of group buying works in the UK. The fact is, if a deal in your area pops up and you don’t fancy it, at least you’ve had the opportunity to see it. If you do like the idea of the discount, commit to it, and tell your friends!



“Group Buying Power, as the name suggests, does not work without the group buying into it. At present, our tipping point; or the number of people needed to sign up for a deal to become live, is relatively low, but this will increase as more businesses offer larger discounts. The viral aspect of the web now, what with Facebook and Twitter in particular, lends itself to people coming together to receive these fantastic deals.”



He continued,



“The success of MyVoucherCodes has put us in a fortunate position, where we already have a proven track record of referring huge amounts of sales to companies. In my mind, Groupola.com will eventually become more successful than MyVoucherCodes – we have plans to expand into one new city every single week.



“Our aim is to listen to the consumer. If, for instance, more people are showing interest and signing up in a certain city, we will launch there, as we will have the ability to bargain fantastic deals on their behalf, using the Group Buying element.”



Groupola.com is also celebrating the launch of the site by allowing people to be in with a chance of winning a new 16GB WiFi and 3G Apple iPad – the very day it arrives in the UK.



All consumers have to do to be in with a chance of being one of the first people in the UK to have an iPad is sign up for Groupola.com's new email newsletter, which will detail the best 'up to 90% off' offers from prominent retailers in their region.



The ten lucky winners will be announced on the Groupola.com website, as well as its Facebook page and Twitter account a week before the iPad UK launch date, which is expected in March, and will receive the Apple iPad on the day it is launched.



Link: http://www.groupola.com

ENDS



For more information, please contact Rich Leigh, 10 Yetis Public Relations Agency on 01452 348 211 or rich@10yetis.co.uk



EDITORS NOTES



Groupola.com is the biggest Group Buying Power website in the UK.



Groupola.com operates in 8 of the largest cities across the UK, including London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff and Edinburgh.



Mark Pearson, MD of MyVoucherCodes is a regular media contributor regarding online shopping and the credit crunch. At 29 his personal worth is more than £30 million. Mark was previously a trainee chef working for Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, London.

MyVoucherCodes has had sales exceeding £481m in the last year

Consumer savings on online shopping via MyVoucherCodes.co.uk up from £28m in 2008 to £52m in 2009.