Forty percent of merchants run some kind of “special” sales or promotions according to a Groupon survey of 25,000+ merchants. Half of the specials are offline, “trapped” on chalkboards and menus, noted Groupon VP of Marketplacest Dan Roarty, who was speaking at Money2020. “There is no aggregate source for them.”

Roarty said that the company, as part of its Local Operating System, has been working “to close the loop” via its G.Nome payments and loyalty system. Among other things, G. Nome provides a seamless redemption of deals, specials, coupons; automatic requests to leave feedback; and “automatic goodies” for being a great customer.

Many other elements are required to really close the loop, however, said Roarty. Groupon is currently soliciting help from partners who can enhance its efforts to provide payments, Point of Sales info, Geo Fencing, Wifi and Beacons. “Groupon can uniquely blend all these signals and put customers in control,” said Roarty.