Groupon penetration drives growth in European online couponing activity in 2010

The emergence of Groupon contributes to a significant growth in the usage of online coupon sites in Europe in 2010. According to comScore, the total number of people using coupon sites in Europe in a month grew by 162 percent to 34.9 million visitors in December 2010 when compared to the previous year.

The past year has seen online coupon sites emerge as an important channel in driving consumer behavior in Europe, generating a 5.7 point increase in penetration. This growth money-saving couponing activity is the highest seen in any region in 2010, bringing the reach of coupon sites in Europe to 9.6% of all internet users.

The report, The 2010 Europe Digital Year in Review, shows significant variation in the penetration of coupon sites. France continues to lead, having the highest monthly reach (20.6% of all French Internet users), followed by the UK (17%), and Italy (15.2%). Italy and Turkey experienced the highest growth rates, with a 15 and 13.6 percentage point increase, respectively.

Groupon, which was not a significant player in Europe in 2009, established itself as market leader following the acquisition of its leading competitor in Europe, Citydeal, in May 2010. The company was able to establish a presence in more than 100 European cities in the past year and now reaches more than 12 million visitors a month, approximately one-third of the total coupon market.

The growth of Groupon, which encourages sharing of offers via Facebook and Twitter, was supported by growing usage of social networking sites in Europe. By the end of the year, social networking monthly penetration in Europe reached 84.4% of all European internet users. According to comScore Social networking accounted for 22.8% of all page views in Europe, and approximately four out of every ten internet sessions included a visit to a social networking site.

A demographic analysis of social networking users in Europe, reveals women leading in terms of engagement. In December 2010, women spent 24.3% of their online time on social networking sites, while, men spent only 16.8% of their time on these sites.