Goodypass.com: A group buying site offering members a slice of a Celebrity Lifestyle Online

I thought I’d share with you my latest find online Goodypass.com. It’s a website which offers a range of discounts to members who are sent regular emails. Exclusive offers include one third off top restaurants, half price beauty treatments and money off a wide selection of top quality products and services. The site set up by Daybreaks Kate Garraway only just officially launched last weekend but has been running in beta since November. Kate’s project is backed by Edward Shenderovich a Russian born internet entrepreneur and is providing financial backing through his venture capital fund Kite Ventures.

Kate Garraway came up with the idea and name Goodypass.com after she set out to find ways of developing a long term business that offered something real and of value to her fans.  Her idea was that celebrities get freebies so why shouldn’t the general public and these values also suit the sites aims to push products in a socially authentic way. Kate has also signed up twelve other celebrities to help her promote deals on the site and each will have their own portal which will include videos, photos and a blog, from where they can recommend deals. These celebrities include Alison Hammond, Lynda Bellingham, Aldo Zilli, Lisa Faukner and Laura Hamilton to name just a few. The site also intends to donate 5% of all profits to the Make-A-Wish Foundation for kids.  

Goodypass joins a growing number of social commerce sites best illustrated by LivingSocial and Groupon which has been a massive success in America and has recently been valued at over $1 billion. It could perhaps be questioned that the online voucher market is becoming a crowded market place but having celebrities making recommendations does tend to give the site an exciting edge.

How does Goodypass work and what is on offer?

Goodypass.com works with a wide range of national and local businesses to source deals which offer members access to discounts on various goods and services including beauty treatments and designer clothing and accessories.  To buy a goodypass deal all you have to do is click, buy now, register, pay and you are sent an email with a link so that you can print your voucher. Your voucher will then detail exactly what you need to do to redeem it.  Once you’ve tried it out you might want to tell your friends all about the company and Goodypass are offering £5 credit to members who refer a new member providing your friend buys a deal within 72 hours of receiving your invitation.

So how does Goodpass.com make a profit? As well as negotiating discounts which are passed direct to consumers, commission is also negotiated for the company. This percentage helps to cover the cost of running the businesses and it is hoped this will eventually allow the business to make a profit. Until then celebrities involved will laso take a share of the commission in return for their involvement.

Potential influence of Celebrities on Social Commerce

Using celebrities to promote offers to a mainstream audience does seem like a smart move.  What makes Goodypass different is that it allows consumers to communicate directly with showbiz personalities. Most offer sites are set up with no pre existing brand or audience, however Goodypass is already an official discount partner of Ok magazine and Kate is very active on Twitter and blogs every week.  Kate only joined Twitter last year and already has over 38,000 twitter followers and Angela Griffin has 43,422 so Goodypass has an opportune audience base.  

The offers aren’t available for every city yet, but the company is growing very quickly. The website states that if you can help get any Goodypass.com deals in your city to get in touch.  The sector of celebrity and social commerce definitely seems like one to watch.  It is currently free to sign up to Goodypass.com so I’m definately tempted to give it a go!