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2008年11月，团购网站Groupon在美国成立——其命名由“团体”（group）和“优惠券”（coupon）合并而来——网上团购风马上席卷全美，而今更在全世界遍地开花。团购是继“偷菜”和微博之后又一个成为国人现实生活一部分的网络新生事物，在繁荣发展之余也产生了不少消费纠纷。“3·15”临近，小编提醒各位“团友”：团购有风险，点击要谨慎！
Host: An e-mail came out offering a $50 gift card to the Gap注1 for just $25. The response was immediate. Half a million people clicked “buy.” That e-mail was
legitimate[合法的], but it didn’t come from the Gap. It came from a company called Groupon. It’s one of several
companies offering consumers some amazing deals and changing the way businesses market themselves.
The Gap deal was Groupon’s first big national promotion. And the response overwhelmed[彻底击败]
the company’s servers. Rob Solomon is Groupon’s
president.
Solomon: We thought it would do well. We had no idea it would do as well as it did. And now we’re getting calls from every national retailer[零售商] out there about how they can get in on the fun with Groupon…
Up until now, Groupon has built its business with a
local focus. It partners up with small businesses in the dozens of cities it serves, then offers hard-to-resist savings to the people on its massive e-mail lists. Solomon says the customers buy directly from Groupon.
Solomon: Traditionally, the cupcake bakery[面包店] or the Pilates注2 studio or the Brazilian steakhouse[牛排店] wasn’t able to sell on the Internet, and they maybe promoted themselves a little bit on the Internet, but nothing really moved the needle[找到方向] until this thing came along.
Groupon may be the leader in discount[折扣] group buying on the Internet, but it does have competitors.
LivingSocial recently sent an e-mail to its customers in Washington, D.C. offering $50 worth of fancy cupcakes for $25.
More than 2,000 people responded—double what the managers at the Red Velvet[天鹅绒] Cupcakery had been expecting. Tracy Wilson says it’s been a wild ride for the pastry[糕点] chefs.
Wilson: They were literally working around the
clock[昼夜不停].
Tim O’Shaughnessy is the CEO of LivingSocial. He says online marketing firms like his take a cut on each transaction[交易]. The business model is based on two
fundamentals: People can’t resist a bargain, and small businesses are always looking for more customers.
O’Shaughnessy: It is probably a more powerful marketing method than just about anything out there. And, you know, if you work with us, the next day you will start seeing new customers.
For some businesses, there can be a downside[不利方面].
Some complain the response was overwhelming and they lost existing customers who would have paid full price. LivingSocial and Groupon say they’re working with
merchants, but having too many customers is generally a good problem to have.
主持人：在一封电子邮件里，价值50美元的盖璞礼券卡仅售25美元。一石激起千层浪，近50万人点击了“购买”键。这封邮件绝对合法，但发件人并不是盖璞公司，而是一个名为Groupon的公司。它是全美几家为顾客提供优惠交易的公司之一，大大改变了各行各业的营销推广方式。
盖璞优惠项目是Groupon首个全美大型促销活动，其回馈（点击量）使公司的服务器一度陷入瘫痪。罗布·所罗门是Groupon的总裁。
所罗门：我们知道这个活动的效果一定很好，但从没想过会那么好。现在全国各地的零售商都给我们打电话，他们也想与Groupon合作，好分一杯羹……
Groupon目前的经营模式依然以本地为核心。它与服务范围内的几十座城市中的小商家合作，为其庞大的电邮客户群提供让人难以抗拒的优惠。所罗门表示，顾客都是直接在Groupon进行团购。
所罗门：在传统意义上，纸杯蛋糕店、普拉提工作室或巴西牛排屋都难以通过网络进行销售。它们或许会在网上打打广告，但直到团购出现，它们才找到无穷商机。
Groupon或许是网上打折团购业的领头羊，但它也有不少对手。
LivingSocial网站最近给华盛顿特区的顾客发送优惠邮件——用25美元就能买到价值50美元的美味纸杯蛋糕。
超过2000人点击购买——这个数字比“红色天鹅绒”小蛋糕店的经理们所预计的数字多了一倍。特蕾西·威尔森说，对于糕点师来说，这绝对是一次疯狂的经历。
威尔森：他们确实要通宵达旦地
工作。
蒂姆·奥肖内西是LivingSocial的首席执行官。他说，像他的公司这样的网络营销企业能在每一桩交易中拿到一点分成。这种商业模式建立在两个基础之上：人们无法抗拒打折的诱惑，小商家则一直希望扩大客源。
奥肖内西：比起现有的销售模式，团购应该是一种更有力的营销方式。而且，你知道，如果你和我们合作，第二天你就会源源不断地发现新客户。
对于部分商家来说，团购也有坏处。有人抱怨团购数量太多，使他们失去了一些愿意全额消费的已有客源。LivingSocial和Groupon表示，他们正与经销商讨论这个问题，但总的来说，客人太多也是一个愉快的
烦恼。
注1：创立于1969年的美国著名休闲服装品牌，曾用中文名“盖普”，2010年10月正式进军中国市场后更名为“盖璞”，首批四家旗舰店分别设于北京和上海。
注2：由德国人约瑟夫·普拉提（Joseph Pilates）于1926年创立并推广的一种运动健身体系，融入了瑜伽、太极拳、芭蕾的部分理念，可以是集体健身课程或是为纠正某种特殊损伤或其他身体问题而设的私人训练课程。
Host: An e-mail came out offering a $50 gift card to the Gap注1 for just $25. The response was immediate. Half a million people clicked “buy.” That e-mail was
legitimate[合法的], but it didn’t come from the Gap. It came from a company called Groupon. It’s one of several
companies offering consumers some amazing deals and changing the way businesses market themselves.
The Gap deal was Groupon’s first big national promotion. And the response overwhelmed[彻底击败]
the company’s servers. Rob Solomon is Groupon’s
president.
Solomon: We thought it would do well. We had no idea it would do as well as it did. And now we’re getting calls from every national retailer[零售商] out there about how they can get in on the fun with Groupon…
Up until now, Groupon has built its business with a
local focus. It partners up with small businesses in the dozens of cities it serves, then offers hard-to-resist savings to the people on its massive e-mail lists. Solomon says the customers buy directly from Groupon.
Solomon: Traditionally, the cupcake bakery[面包店] or the Pilates注2 studio or the Brazilian steakhouse[牛排店] wasn’t able to sell on the Internet, and they maybe promoted themselves a little bit on the Internet, but nothing really moved the needle[找到方向] until this thing came along.
Groupon may be the leader in discount[折扣] group buying on the Internet, but it does have competitors.
LivingSocial recently sent an e-mail to its customers in Washington, D.C. offering $50 worth of fancy cupcakes for $25.
More than 2,000 people responded—double what the managers at the Red Velvet[天鹅绒] Cupcakery had been expecting. Tracy Wilson says it’s been a wild ride for the pastry[糕点] chefs.
Wilson: They were literally working around the
clock[昼夜不停].
Tim O’Shaughnessy is the CEO of LivingSocial. He says online marketing firms like his take a cut on each transaction[交易]. The business model is based on two
fundamentals: People can’t resist a bargain, and small businesses are always looking for more customers.
O’Shaughnessy: It is probably a more powerful marketing method than just about anything out there. And, you know, if you work with us, the next day you will start seeing new customers.
For some businesses, there can be a downside[不利方面].
Some complain the response was overwhelming and they lost existing customers who would have paid full price. LivingSocial and Groupon say they’re working with
merchants, but having too many customers is generally a good problem to have.
主持人：在一封电子邮件里，价值50美元的盖璞礼券卡仅售25美元。一石激起千层浪，近50万人点击了“购买”键。这封邮件绝对合法，但发件人并不是盖璞公司，而是一个名为Groupon的公司。它是全美几家为顾客提供优惠交易的公司之一，大大改变了各行各业的营销推广方式。
盖璞优惠项目是Groupon首个全美大型促销活动，其回馈（点击量）使公司的服务器一度陷入瘫痪。罗布·所罗门是Groupon的总裁。
所罗门：我们知道这个活动的效果一定很好，但从没想过会那么好。现在全国各地的零售商都给我们打电话，他们也想与Groupon合作，好分一杯羹……
Groupon目前的经营模式依然以本地为核心。它与服务范围内的几十座城市中的小商家合作，为其庞大的电邮客户群提供让人难以抗拒的优惠。所罗门表示，顾客都是直接在Groupon进行团购。
所罗门：在传统意义上，纸杯蛋糕店、普拉提工作室或巴西牛排屋都难以通过网络进行销售。它们或许会在网上打打广告，但直到团购出现，它们才找到无穷商机。
Groupon或许是网上打折团购业的领头羊，但它也有不少对手。
LivingSocial网站最近给华盛顿特区的顾客发送优惠邮件——用25美元就能买到价值50美元的美味纸杯蛋糕。
超过2000人点击购买——这个数字比“红色天鹅绒”小蛋糕店的经理们所预计的数字多了一倍。特蕾西·威尔森说，对于糕点师来说，这绝对是一次疯狂的经历。
威尔森：他们确实要通宵达旦地
工作。
蒂姆·奥肖内西是LivingSocial的首席执行官。他说，像他的公司这样的网络营销企业能在每一桩交易中拿到一点分成。这种商业模式建立在两个基础之上：人们无法抗拒打折的诱惑，小商家则一直希望扩大客源。
奥肖内西：比起现有的销售模式，团购应该是一种更有力的营销方式。而且，你知道，如果你和我们合作，第二天你就会源源不断地发现新客户。
对于部分商家来说，团购也有坏处。有人抱怨团购数量太多，使他们失去了一些愿意全额消费的已有客源。LivingSocial和Groupon表示，他们正与经销商讨论这个问题，但总的来说，客人太多也是一个愉快的
烦恼。
注1：创立于1969年的美国著名休闲服装品牌，曾用中文名“盖普”，2010年10月正式进军中国市场后更名为“盖璞”，首批四家旗舰店分别设于北京和上海。
注2：由德国人约瑟夫·普拉提（Joseph Pilates）于1926年创立并推广的一种运动健身体系，融入了瑜伽、太极拳、芭蕾的部分理念，可以是集体健身课程或是为纠正某种特殊损伤或其他身体问题而设的私人训练课程。