LivingSocial Goes National; Launches in 6 New UK Cities Plus Dublin

LONDON, November 4, 2010 /PRNewswire/ --

- Social Commerce Phenomenon Drives 30,000 New Customers Into Local British Businesses and Saves Consumers GBP2 Million in Just 15 Weeks

Leading social commerce firm, LivingSocial, (http://livingsocial.com/) has today launched in 6 new UK cities: Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool and Newcastle. In addition, it has also opened for business in its second European country, Republic of Ireland, where its LivingSocial Deals platform will be driving new customers through the doors of Dublin businesses.

Recently named the 25th most valuable start-up worldwide behind the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Craigslist, Skype and LinkedIn[1]. LivingSocial is rapidly becoming the number one choice for UK businesses looking to implement a social commerce campaign because of the sophisticated techniques it uses to build its highly targeted subscriber bases, understanding of how to structure deals to achieve the best results, and its analytical approach to reporting.

Since its UK launch on June 30th 2010, LivingSocial has run Daily Deals on its social commerce platform for over 100 UK businesses ranging from well-known brands including ZSL London Zoo, Marco Pierre White restaurants, and Toni & Guy hair salons to small independent businesses such as cupcake bakeries, bars, cooking schools, paintballing experiences, spas and laser hair removal clinics. Its deals have delivered just under 30,000 paying customers for the participating businesses, and saved consumers GBP1.94 million pounds in London, Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow.

"LivingSocial is at the forefront of the rapidly growing group shopping space, because we understand that this business is about social commerce not discounting," said Peter Briffett, UK MD LivingSocial. "Our business has a rich social commerce heritage and we understand how to get things moving on social networks, which is why our site currently gets more than 1.5 million more unique visitors than our nearest competitor[2]. This expertise enables us to offer local firms the opportunity to advertise their businesses to potential customers of the right target demographic in their city, creating word of mouth buzz and delivering repeat business for companies in a tough economic climate."

"Working with LivingSocial had a hugely positive impact on our business," said Phil Wood, General Manager Metro Golf. "We specifically chose to work with them as they were professional, easy to work with and ensured that the deal ran with precision. In addition to generating over 180 sales for our golf coaches, which would normally have taken us at least a month to achieve, LivingSocial also generated over GBP2000 for us which was very welcome in what is our quiet summer period.

"We were so excited when one of the very first LivingSocial customers we had, enjoyed his lesson so much that he bought a full price package straight away, immediately highlighting the value of the service."

According to leading digital marketing intelligence firm, comScore, subscribers to daily deal type platforms spend two to five times more than the average digital consumer[3].

The addition of seven new cities means that LivingSocial now operates in all major cities across England, Scotland and Wales, as well as Dublin in the Republic of Ireland. The company plans to launch in more UK cities before the end of the year.

For consumers, LivingSocial is the website where anyone can find out what shops, restaurants, activities and services are popular in their area. The group buying service has dedicated city experts on the ground in every market, constantly researching the best in local attractions to bring savings of up to 90% for consumers on the best things to see and do in their city.

Cashing in on LivingSocial Deals is easy: the site offers a new promotion every morning, announced via its website, newsletter, Twitter, Facebook, iPhone and Android apps. Live for 24 hours, the Deal is available to anyone who clicks on it. Additionally, LivingSocial's unique referral model gives users their Deal for free if they refer three friends who also participate. With a user base of more than 85 million people, LivingSocial is able to provide local merchants with the unprecedented ability to reach both local customers and a worldwide audience.

About LivingSocial

LivingSocial is the social commerce leader behind LivingSocial Deals, a group buying program that invites people and their friends to save up to 90 percent each day at their favorite restaurants, spas, sporting events, hotels and other local attractions in major cities. LivingSocial has an extensive user base of more than 85 million, and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. To sign up for Deals in your city, or to find out more information about LivingSocial, visit http://www.livingsocial.com. You can also follow LivingSocial on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/livingsocial. ---------------------------------

    [1] BusinessInsider.com 23rd September 2010.
    [2] ComScore report featured in Businessinsider.com 25th August 2010.
    [3] Econsultancy, 27 May 2010

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SOURCE LivingSocial