By: Sharon Aron Baron
The “deal of the day” website Groupon, who canceled gun deals back in January because users who threatened to discontinue their membership if the site continued to promote them, are resuming them again.
One Coral Springs resident sent us a coupon he received on Sunday offering a shooting range package for only $39, and was concerned because he believed that Groupon had stopped sending them out after the Sandy Hook shooting.
Back in January, Groupon canceled all gun related deals in North America after pressure from gun-control advocates.
According to the Huffington Post, gun control proponents applauded the decision. “We, along with other groups, had been applying pressure to Groupon for some time now because we were disturbed by the flippant nature of previous gun deals,” said Ladd Everritt, director of communications at The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit.
“Even before Newtown,” he added, “Groupon was undoubtedly getting e-mails from users who threatened to discontinue their membership if the site continued to promote those types of deals, and I expect those emails have only accelerated in intensity after the tragedy.”
The move sparked anger, even boycotts from some gun business owners who said their deals were immensely popular.
Groupon told HuffPost that its move was not politically motivated. In an emailed statement, Groupon Spokesperson Julie Mossler said the deal site’s categories and inventory “evolve with consumer and merchant sentiment” and the “change to our inventory is not a statement against these small businesses.”
After almost one year, the gun deals are resuming, and if they win customers over, Groupon will become another successful advertising tool for them.
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