Groupon Sees Decline In North America Revenue In Q1

Groupon, the daily deal website operator, reported first quarter earnings that showed a 5.5 percent decline in revenue in North America.

According to a report in TechCrunch, revenue for its first quarter came in at $673.6 million, with non-GAAP earnings coming in at $0.01 a share. Analysts had expected Groupon to report sales of $724.4 million and a loss of $0.01 a share.

“In the first quarter, we continued to make solid progress in our mission to be the daily habit in local commerce,” said CEO Rich Williams in a statement, reported TechCrunch. “Our focus on growing customers in our marketplace, significantly improving the customer experience and continuing to streamline and simplify our business helped drive a 42 percent year-over-year increase in adjusted EBITDA and gross profit of $309 million for the quarter.”

In conjunction with its earnings report, Groupon said it achieved its goal of reducing operations to 15 markets, exiting 11 markets during the first quarter. Groupon was in 50 countries at its peak. Internationally, Groupon said gross profit was down 15 percent due to execution challenges and short-term disruptions. The company said it has 16.7 million international customers that are active on the platform.

As for the decline in revenue in North America, Groupon said it was largely due to a focus on Groupon to move away from goods to local services, which is being aided by the acquisition of LivingSocial, a deal which it inked in 2016.

At the end of the first quarter, Groupon said it has 31.6 million active customers in North America, with Groupon adding 500,000 in the first quarter. Around the globe, Groupon said it has 48.3 million active customers. In January a report surfaced that Alibaba, China’s leading eCommerce operator, was looking to acquire Groupon. The report noted that Alibaba has a “sizable” stake in Groupon.