The increasingly competitive group discount and daily deal marketplace may be approaching saturation, judging by new data from Experian Hitwise which shows that market-leader Groupon saw total traffic tumble 50% between the second week in June and the third week in August. The question is whether this indicates growing group discount fatigue among consumers.

Sounds like the perfect time for Gannett to enter the market with "Deal Chicken."

It seems to me there are two real problems here:

(1.) People might, eventually, get sick of these deal programs, or at least hone in only on the tight niches that really excite them. (For instance, if someone offered a "Mac accessory of the day at half price" e-blast I might sign up for that one.)

(2.) The business model for Groupon is to get some other business to accept 25% of their regular price for a meal, product or service rendered. I don't think that's sustainable, and it's particularly disconcerting because the better it is as a marketing solution, the worse it is for the small business.

Echoing my sentiments back in 2007, I'd suggest small businesses avoid these crazy deal sites in the same essential way that I tried to warn people off of the mortgage-backed securities crazy just five years ago. *

*Note: I didn't actually do that. Had no idea, really.