There are lots and lots of local daily deal sites out there, and for the most part they look and act just like Groupon. There is certainly no shame in copying a model that has propelled Groupon to the status of fastest growing web startup of all time, but ScoutMob has taken a slightly different path. Here is how their model works.
ScoutMob Deals are Free
Unlike Groupon where you might pay $10 for $20 worth of stuff, with ScoutMob you pay nothing. You simply claim their 50% off deal and redeem it at the local business without any upfront payment. Usually, ScoutMob will have some limit on the total amount you can save. For instance, the deal may be for 50% off at a local restaurant, but your max savings is $25.
ScoutMob’s iPhone App
In addition to being different from Groupon and the rest, by offering their deals for free, ScoutMob also has a different twist on how they use their iPhone app. If you get the daily ScoutMob email, you will have one day to claim the deal – pretty standard stuff. However, if you have the ScoutMob iPhone app (now also available on Android), the deals are delivered to your phone automatically – sort of like you are automatically claiming every deal they offer. Once the deal is on your phone, you can then redeem it at the local business. To activate the deal on your phone you must be close, based on your phone’s GPS, to the business. Once activated, you will have a limited amount of time for the deal to be redeemed by the business you visit.
How Does ScoutMob Make Money?
Well free deals sounds great, and free apps with great deals sounds even better, but nobody can offer only free stuff and stay in business for long, so the question remains: how does ScoutMob make their money? Well, ScoutMob doesn’t make money charging you and me for the deals, they make their money charging the local businesses. I’m sure not every deal they do is the same, but our reports are that they charge the businesses as follows:
- 50 cents for each deal claimed – this is charged whether or not you redeem the deal.
- $2-$3 for each deal redeemed on an iPhone
So, there you have it. Now you know how ScoutMob Works.