Groupon Ends Third Quarter With 49.1M Active Customers

Groupon, the daily deal website operator, reported third-quarter earnings that showed an uptick in users in the three-month period ending in September.

In a press release announcing the results on Wednesday (Nov. 1), the company said it reached 32.5 million active customers in North America as of the end of September, adding 600,000 new active customers in the third quarter alone. Active customers represent unique user accounts that have made a purchase during the trailing 12 months, either through one of Groupon’s online marketplaces or directly from a merchant, which results in the company earning a commission.

International active customers increased 200,000 during the quarter, reaching 16.6 million as of September 30, 2017. All told, the company has 49.1 million active customers.

In addition to the increase in users during the third quarter, Groupon also announced that Steve Krenzer will join the company as chief operating officer, effective immediately. In a press release in conjunction with the company’s Q3 earnings results, Groupon said Krenzer was most recently the CEO of Core Digital Media (CDM), an online direct-response advertising company and one of the internet’s largest display advertising providers. CDM’s flagship web properties include LowerMyBills.com and ClassesUSA.

“The opportunity to add a high horsepower eCommerce leader like Steve doesn’t come along very often,” Groupon CEO Rich Williams said in prepared remarks. “His combination of industry savvy, deep operational experience and intimate understanding of digital marketing is equally rare. Steve will immediately put those skills to work as we continue to advance our vast local marketplace.”

In his COO role, Groupon said Krenzer will have “ultimate” oversight of the company’s North American and international businesses, including global marketing and global operations.

“Groupon’s progress in building a nearly unmatched platform to connect customers and small businesses is impressive, and its future opportunities in local are even more exciting,” Krenzer said in the same press release. “The innovation, focus and obvious passion for the customer displayed around the company made this role instantly appealing.”

Prior to working at CDM, Krenzer held a variety of senior executive positions at Experian, ultimately serving as president of interactive media. In 2012, he led the management group of LowerMyBills.com, ClassesUSA and PriceGrabber in taking those companies private, leading to the creation of CDM. PriceGrabber was sold to Connexity in 2015. Quicken Loans’ parent company, Rock Holdings, purchased LowerMyBills.com and ClassesUSA earlier this year.

Separately, the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that its sale of assets to food delivery company GrubHub this past summer netted it $19.8 million. The asset sale included customer lists and other “intangible assets in certain food delivery markets.”