ARCHIVES: This is legacy content from before Industry Dive acquired Mobile Commerce Daily in early 2017. Some information, such as publication dates, may not have migrated over. Check out our topic page for the latest mobile commerce news.

Groupon lets merchants track customer deals via mobile app

Groupon has rolled out a redemption-tracking mobile application that lets merchants track their coupons and deals.

The Merchant application lets staff scan and verify Groupons using their device’s camera. The application is available for free download in Android Marketplace and will be available soon in Apple’s App Store.

“We’re leveraging merchants’ use of mobile devices like smartphones and the iPod to create a tool that streamlines redemption and ROI analysis better than ever before,” said Julie Mossler, spokeswoman for Groupon. “It also complements our existing suite of merchant services.”

Groupon features a daily deal on the stuff to do, eat, see and buy in more than 300 markets around the world.

As part of its mobile initiative, Groupon will ship Android and iPod touch devices with the application preloaded to thousands of businesses as part of its featured promotion on the site.

Merchants can redeem the vouchers via and Android or iPhone and purchase data is transmitted to the existing merchant interface on Groupon’s Web site – this lets merchants track redemption and customer check amount in real time.

Merchants can align the bar code in the box to scan the code.

Merchants can see the amount of money redeemed from the Groupon.

Merchants can see how much money was used from the Groupon.

Merchants can view the history.

“Businesses operating multiple locations frequently use Groupon, and one of the most common merchant requests was a cleaner way to track redemption,” Ms. Mossler said. “With this app, you can redeem Groupon vouchers at the point of service, whether it’s at a table in a restaurant or the front gates of a festival.

“It also aggregates data from multiple locations, allowing business owners to track redemption and customer check amount in real time,” she said.

In addition to the new application, Groupon will introduce a comprehensive merchant analytics dashboard and communications tools to help businesses stay in touch with new Groupon customers.

Groupon also has and iPhone and Android application that lets users buy daily deals directly via their mobile device.

“Our Android and iPhone apps are a popular way for customers to browse daily deals, purchase and redeem,” Ms. Mossler said.