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In mid-January, LivingSocial offered a $20 Amazon gift card for $10, shortly after the latter became a major stakeholder in the company. The deal was eagerly shared by the press and consumers alike (40% of purchases came from shared links), resulting in 1.3 million vouchers (and $13 million in gross sales), an 80% increase in traffic and a 33% increase in membership to 20 million for the month. Groupon had 40 million subscribers as of December.
In an attempt to counterbalance LivingSocial's Amazon offer, Groupon sent out a "Super Groupon" Friday offering $20 of Barnes & Noble merchandise for $10. While Barnes & Noble doesn't offer as broad a selection as Amazon does, book lovers should have no trouble spending their vouchers.