Group buying giant Groupon has apologised for using online advertisements for its Stardeals subsidiary that showed off a product that was not available to customers.
The apology comes after Billy Tucker, chief executive of rival group buying suit Cudo, attacked the company in a blog saying it was using “bait-and-switch” tactics.
Stardeals director Alexandra Podeanu said the company was sorry if any customers felt they were misled.
“Given that Stardeals had not yet launched, the ad was simply meant to be a representation of the kind of deals that we will offer when the website is live. We unreservedly apologise to any consumers who felt misled by the ad,” she says.
The ad showed a picture of macaroons with “All you can eat” text and a price of $8, but when users clicked through that product was nowhere to be found and in some cases the ad was targeted at users in Melbourne, where no deals are available yet.
Cudo chief executive Billy Tucker raised the issue in a blog post earlier this week, saying Groupon was using “bait-and-switch” tactics in order to boost the number of users on its email list.
This is not the first time Groupon has been accused of using such tactics. Last week the company was slammed for selling a Valentine’s Day deal for a company that was more expensive than the same offer provided by the company.
Groupon also got into hot water this month after it pulled some Super Bowl TV advertisements after viewers complained that they were racially insensitive.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
