It looks like China is not the only country getting Groupon this week as the popular group-buying site announces the official launch of Groupon United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Groupon basically offers discount deals for products and services by partnering up with local businesses. Each deal must meet a minimum quota of sale for the transaction to push through. Not bearing any localized name, Groupon will be operating in the Middle East under the website http://www.groupon.ae and will initially be serving Dubai and Abu Dhabi with live deals and plans to expand into additional cities in future months.
Originally spotted last December, Groupon will now join the dozens of group buying sites in the Middle East including popular ones such as GoNabIt and Cobone. While it’s surprising that the company did not acquire any of the existing sites, like it has with other countries, Groupon UAE believes that it will be leveraging the best practices it has pioneered in more than 40 countries around the globe.
If you’re not from Dubai or Abu Dhabi, you can check out this chart that shows the availability of group-buying sites in other Middle Eastern countries.
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