Yahoo! enters Hong Kong’s online group discount sector

Yahoo! Deals Service is Hong Kong’s first aggregated group buy service offering a single point of access for local bargain-hunters.

Yahoo! the premier digital media company, on Wednesday announced its entry into the booming online group discount sector with the launch of Yahoo! Deals Service in Hong Kong. 

Developed locally, Yahoo! Deals Service is the first group buy service in Hong Kong to aggregate the best deals from the various vendors in the market and today is offering users over 10 daily consumer deals from BeeCrazy, Couppie and FunShare. In addition, as a safeguard to consumers, all the deals offered through Yahoo! Deals Service will be pre-approved and cleared by Yahoo! Hong Kong before they go live, according to a Yahoo! report.

The market for group buying has grown rapidly in the last two years but bargain hunters in Hong Kong lack a single, one-stop platform where they can browse for the best discounts in the market. Alfred Tsoi, Vice President and Managing Director, Yahoo! Hong Kong said, “With Yahoo! Deals, users now have the convenience of a single destination that brings the best daily deals consolidated from a number of local vendors, netting them the best deals but with minimum effort and time required to search through multiple sites.”

“We have seen a very strong response to the new Yahoo! Deals Service and in the coming months Yahoo! Hong Kong is looking to sign up additional partners in order to deliver a more compelling and convenient experience for e-shoppers,” said Mark Liu, E-commerce Director, Yahoo! Hong Kong. “Yahoo! Deals also has a significant advantage in being able to leverage the strength of Yahoo! Auctions, which has a loyal and well established customer base.”

The new service delivers a win-win for both merchants and consumers; increased competition as the customer base expands with more people recognizing the value of online group discounts and partners benefit through having immediate access to Yahoo! Hong Kong’s 4.3 million active users who represent 98%[1] of Hong Kong’s Internet community.

Key consumer benefits of Yahoo! Deals Service include:

• More Choice, Less Hassle - Offers deals from various partners on a single portal with a secure and convenient payment gateway.
• Better Quality of Offers – Delivers the best deals based on community interests.
• Buyer Protection –Yahoo! Hong Kong will work closely with its partners to protect the consumer offering a full refund where appropriate.
• Easy Access, No Registration is Required - No registration is required for Yahoo! ID users and IDs from popular online accounts can also be used to access the service.