Best-known for its discount vouchers, Groupon Inc. continues to register strong gains in selling physical merchandise through its Groupon Goods limited-time sale program launched in 2011.
The company disclosed today that Groupon Goods sales increased more than 68% in the second quarter of this year. Those product sales helped boost the company’s North American revenue 45.0% (Groupon Goods is also offered outside the United States). However, international sales declined 24.9% overall for Groupon in the second quarter.
Overall, Groupon said today that its second-quarter revenue increased 7.1% over the same period last year. The daily-deal operator reported a net loss of $7.6 million thanks largely to lagging international sales.
Groupon also named co-founder and interim chief executive Eric Lefkofsky as its CEO. The appointment makes permanent his interim executive position. Lefkofsky and Ted Leonsis had been co-CEOs since Groupon fired its founding CEO Andrew Mason earlier this year.
For the second quarter ended June 30, Groupon, No. 65 in the 2013 Top 500 Guide, reported:
• Revenue increased 7.1% to $608.7 million, compared with $568.3 million in the second quarter of 2012.
• North American revenue of approximately $377.2 million, a 45.0% jump from $260.2 million a year earlier.
• International sales of $231.5 million, a 24.9% decline from $308.1 million in 2012.
• Revenue for Groupon Goods reached $241.8 million in the second quarter, compared with $143.3 million for the same period last year, an increase of 68.7%.
• Operating income of $27.4 million, down 41.1% from $46.5 million in 2012.
• A net loss of $7.6 million, compared with a year-ago gain of nearly $28.4 million.
• Gross billings, which reflects the total amount consumers paid for Groupon vouchers, excluding applicable taxes and refunds, stood at $1.414 billion, a 9.9% increase from $1.287 billion in 2012.
For the first half of the year, Groupon reported:
• Revenue increased 7.3% to $1.210 billion, compared with $ 1.128 billion in the same period in 2012.
• North American revenue of approximately $716.7 million, a 43.7% jump from $498.7 million a year earlier.
• International sales of $493.3 million, a 21.6% decline from $629.3 million in 2012.
• Groupon Goods revenue of $352.2 million, up from $84.6 million in 2012, a 316.3% increase.
• Operating income of $48.6 million, down 43.6% from $86.1 million in 2012.
• A net loss of $11.6 million, compared with a year-ago profit of $16.7 million.
• Gross billings, which reflects the total amount consumers paid for Groupon vouchers, excluding applicable taxes and refunds, stood at $2.821 billion, a 6.8% increase from $2.641 billion in 2012.
Groupon also reported that in June nearly half of North American transactions were completed on mobile devices, compared with about 30% a year earlier. More than 50 million people have downloaded Groupon mobile apps worldwide, it says, with more than 7.5 million people downloading them in the second quarter alone.
“With two quarters on the job, I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made in such a short time,” says Lefkofsky. “We continue to gain traction in mobile, with nearly 50% of our North American transactions coming from mobile in June.”
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