Turmoil, Deals and Sociability

Our Shopping and Classifieds category also indicated that several newcomers to the comparison shopping industry appeared on the scene between the last two holiday seasons. Price-comparison sites and 2010 internet phenoms Groupon and LivingSocial (plus the hundreds of group coupon knockoffs) represent a continuing consumer trend to commoditize products and services and push the discounting envelope to encourage trial through 50 percent off deals.