It wasn’t that long ago we were in a recession. Local merchants were desperate to get people in the door. Groupon hit at exactly the right moment. It looked like a lifeline for small businesses—instant exposure, prepaid sales, and full restaurants.
For a while, it worked. Consumers loved the deals. Merchants tolerated the hit, thinking it was worth the volume. But then the truth surfaced: Groupon was taking up to half of every dollar, and most of those new customers never returned.
Merchants caught on. Consumers didn’t care. The model collapsed under its own weight.
Now, it’s happening again—but the names have changed.
Today, local businesses are paying Google, Meta, TikTok, DoorDash, Uber Eats, and dozens of others just to stay visible. The ad spend is endless. Miss a week, and your reach disappears. The promise is always the same: “We’ll bring you new customers.” The result is often the same too—lower margins, higher dependency, and zero ownership.
The other day, I spent just over $100 on pizza in Las Vegas. I got $25 back from InKind and $43 from a secret shopper app that rewards users for feedback. Those deals weren’t hard to find. Great for me—but brutal for the restaurant. InKind keeps about half the revenue, just like Groupon did. And the $43 payout for feedback? That one transaction likely wiped out their profit for the week.
Local businesses are trapped. They can’t afford to stop marketing, but they also can’t afford the platforms that claim to help them. The $170 billion local advertising industry is built on taking a cut from every struggling business trying to survive.
This time, the merchants know better—but they don’t have a better option yet.
That’s why we started GOTYOU. To give power back to local.
Because local business isn’t just part of the economy—it is the economy. And it deserves to win again.
