Every comeback effort starts with the temptation to find a single, revolutionary fix – a new feature, campaign, or acquisition that magically changes the trajectory. 

At Groupon, we have deliberately resisted that urge.Our transformation isn’t about one silver bullet. It’s about disciplined execution across every stream of our marketplace, every touchpoint, every interaction, every unseen detail that drives trust, frequency, and profitability. 

In a world obsessed with breakthroughs, this sounds almost unglamorous. But the truth is, the most successful product-led transformations are not about dramatic pivots. They’re about systemic re-engineering, designing every component to work together, and reinforcing customer and merchant value in every click.

We believe that only by overhauling the full experience – not in isolation but as a connected ecosystem – can we rebuild the brand, change perceptions, and reignite growth.

Rebuilding from first principles

We started this journey with a simple but uncomfortable question: If Groupon were born today, in a world of TikTok discovery, LLM search, and hyperlocal convenience, what would it look like? 

This question became our north star.

We didn’t start with isolated feature roadmaps. We began by mapping the entire funnel of customer touchpoints, from discovery to redemption to advocacy, and identifying where impact and friction were concentrated. 

That analysis led to one guiding principle: fix the highest-impact, highest-traffic touchpoints first, and then expand systematically.

Search and discovery is our key touchpoint. We’ve been rebuilding search and discovery from the ground up, from better ranking relevance and location precision to visual refreshes that reflect modern e-commerce standards.

The deal page is the heart of the Groupon experience – the moment when curiosity turns into intent. For years, this page was dense with information, fine print, and inconsistent formats. It worked when customers were patient and deal-driven. Today, they’re not. 

Modern customers expect clarity and confidence. They want to know instantly what’s included, why it’s special, and how to redeem it, without scrolling through paragraphs of text. We’re tackling this challenge from multiple angles, including video-first storytelling, AI-powered content compression, and structured redemption guidance.

At the checkout and redemption stages, we’re focused on simplifying every step, ensuring transparency and predictability, because confidence at checkout drives repeat visits.

The outcome isn’t a patchwork of experiments. It’s a synchronized, measurable evolution of the entire product flow. Each improvement builds on the previous one, forming a cohesive story of a modern, experiential marketplace.

Designing for the customer of 2026

Customers today don’t browse the internet the way they did when Groupon was born. They don’t scroll through endless lists. Instead, they expect personalized, visual, context-aware suggestions that fit their mood, location, and intent. This shift has shaped every product decision we’ve made. Let’s take a look at those decisions.

From images to videos

Rather than simply improving image quality, we’re making video the default. 

A short clip of a chef plating a meal or a therapist preparing a massage bed conveys more than a paragraph of text – it instantly builds emotional connection and trust. For merchants, it’s also an opportunity to stand out authentically in a crowded feed.

From SEO to LLM optimization 

While we continue to strengthen SEO foundations, we’re simultaneously building for the next traffic frontier: AI discovery. 

Customers will increasingly find experiences through conversational interfaces – “best family activities in Chicago” – where relevance, structure, and trust signals will matter more than traditional keyword optimization. We’re preparing our catalog and content architecture to ensure Groupon is discoverable and credible in those new contexts.

From static merchandising to dynamic personalization

We’re also shifting from universal user experience to algorithmic merchandising that responds to user behavior. Our goal is simple: make every Groupon visit feel like it was designed for you, not for the average user.

The power of the product–supply partnership

No product transformation can succeed in isolation from supply. You can redesign every pixel of the app, but if the inventory behind it isn’t relevant, local, and high-quality, customers won’t come back. That’s why one of our biggest bets is building the transformation hand in hand with supply.

Hyperlocal navigation 

We’re accelerating a hyperlocal strategy that brings Groupon back to its roots – helping customers explore what’s around them. We’re rebuilding the map experience to make discovery intuitive and rewarding: zoom into your neighborhood, find experiences within walking distance, visualize travel times, and book instantly. 

This isn’t just UX polish; it’s a new way of connecting customers with local merchants.

Contextual relevance by intent

Travelers and locals shouldn’t see the same deals. In Las Vegas, a local might see weekday bowling deals or discounted oil changes – offers that fit everyday life – while a traveler is shown food experiences or helicopter tours over the Strip. 

We’re evolving our ranking models to reflect user intent and context, creating different experience layers for locals versus travelers, new versus returning users, and self-purchasers versus gift buyers.

Driving supply visibility

We’re also empowering merchants with greater visibility through curated thematic pages that showcase seasonal and trending offers. These pages serve both as marketing surfaces and product discovery engines, driving incremental exposure for emerging supply and helping customers navigate through inspiration, not just price filters.

Building a product culture that scales the transformation

None of this is possible without cultural transformation inside the product organization. We’ve moved from siloed execution to end-to-end accountability, where each product lead tracks clear KPIs and continuously learns from live data. We measure success not by features shipped but by behaviors changed – did customers find what they needed faster? Did they buy again sooner?

We’re also building a strong bridge between product, engineering, and supply teams. Every initiative – from search relevance to merchant onboarding – is grounded in commercial impact. Transformation is a cross-functional sport. Product may be the architect, but the building stands only if sales, operations, marketing, and data move in sync.

Learning from data, not dogma

One of the key shifts in our product philosophy is moving from assumption-driven to evidence-driven decision-making. Each hypothesis, whether it's “videos will improve conversion” or “map view will increase engagement,” is tested with real cohorts, real metrics, and clearly defined exit criteria. 

This quarter, we’ve adopted a 30-day measure-learn-decide cycle: 

Test fast → analyze deeply → scale or kill.

This discipline helps us avoid chasing unproven ideas and keeps the entire organization aligned on what truly moves the needle. 

Equally important, we no longer look at metrics in isolation. A higher conversion rate means little if it hurts repeat rates or erodes merchant margin. Our success framework optimizes for balanced value creation – when customers get great experiences, merchants grow sustainably, and Groupon strengthens its marketplace economics.

Looking ahead: Product as the comeback engine

The next chapter for Groupon isn’t about becoming a different company – it’s about becoming the best version of what we’ve always been: a bridge between people and experiences, powered by local discovery and trust. What’s different is how we build it.

Product-led transformation isn’t about designing a few beautiful screens. It’s about orchestrating a multi-year journey where every pixel, algorithm, and process contributes to renewed customer love and merchant success. 

We’re not waiting for one big breakthrough. We are engineering hundreds of small, meaningful breakthroughs, each one compounding into a stronger, more resilient Groupon. The comeback isn’t a single moment. It’s a rhythm of disciplined improvement, grounded in data and empathy.

Lessons for product leaders

Let's wrap up with the big lessons from our journey. If you're leading a product transformation, keep these five core principles in mind:

  1. Don’t chase a single fix. Transformations fail when organizations pin all hopes on one initiative. True change is systemic; it happens when dozens of well-aligned improvements compound.
  2. Prioritize by impact, not by department. Fix the parts of the customer journey that carry the most weight in traffic and perception. The top 10% of touchpoints often drive 90% of outcomes.
  3. Build with future trends in mind. Don’t optimize for yesterday’s web. Design for tomorrow’s behaviors – AI-driven discovery, video consumption, and conversational search.
  4. Run product and supply as one engine. Product drives demand; supply fuels it. You can’t scale one without the other.
  5. Institutionalize learning. Create fast feedback loops where every experiment produces insight, even if it fails. The goal isn’t perfection; it’s momentum with purpose.

Groupon’s product transformation isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about rediscovering the magic that made Groupon special – helping people do more, feel more, and live more – but rebuilding it for the decade ahead. 

That’s the essence of a product-led comeback: not betting on luck, but on craft. Not reinventing who we are, but reinventing how we deliver it. Because in marketplaces, as in life, sustainable growth rarely comes from one brilliant idea; it comes from the relentless, thoughtful execution of many good ones.

Forward-looking statement note

This post includes forward-looking statements about our product strategy that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ. See Groupon’s SEC filings for more information. This is not investment advice.