We don't want to alarm you, but did you know Groupon does more than just draw doomy speculation from the press and actually still rolls out new initiatives? It's true! Wednesday saw the group-buying site quietly branch out into brave new territory with Groupon Goods. Though it hasn't heavily publicized this new service, it's likely to cause some ripples since Groupon is encroaching on Amazon's turf as Groupon Goods is a full-on diversion into e-commerce. (Which is only fair, as Amazon has of course gotten in on the group-buying game as well.)
Here's how it works: Groupon sends out e-mails offering deals on what it deems to be "great products...cool enough to share and innovative enough to inspire." Wednesday's e-mail included deals on iPhone/iPod speaker docks, a 32" Panasonic HDTV, and a hair dryer.
In fact, there isn't a whole heck of a lot of information readily available on Groupon's site about Groupon Goods, aside from this FAQ. But the company can't keep something his huge quiet for long. It remains to be seen whether this is a Hail Mary move to turn the troubled company's fortunes around, but if Groupon is going down it doesn't intend to do so without a fight.
