At retail stores, unusual payments often bring things to a halt. Food stamps, tax exemptions, and even things like two-dollar bills can baffle cashiers (and computers) who aren’t used to dealing with them. So to ease the burden Groupon puts on some businesses (and perhaps increase its influence), it’s possible we’ll see cash registers with Groupon buttons introduced.
We know, we know: this sounds a bit like one of Groupon’s off-the-wall jokes. “Donate your cerebellum by thinking about doing so,” etc. But the move would mesh with the company’s goal to earn over $1 billion in revenue this year, and it was Groupon’s president and COO, who’s often more serious, who broke the news.
Bloomberg’s Olga Kharif reported after interviewing Rob Solomon, “Groupon, the largest provider of online daily deals, is talking with cash-register makers about adding features that would make it easier for merchants and consumers to use its coupons.”
Later, Kharif added, “Groupon plans to begin a test with cash registers, Solomon told Bloomberg Businessweek.com, without giving a timeline.”
It should be interesting to see what happens next. After all, the average retailer might not want to buy brand new machines to accommodate a single new service. So perhaps Groupon will devote a significant amount of money to distributing the cash registers itself.
Or, if retailers accept the cash registers on their own, it’ll be a huge sign concerning Groupon’s importance.