Groupon has always been a deals company. But it is moving into a different, more traditional deals business: The supermarket.
That much was made clear on Thursday when the company unveiled Snap, a new app specifically for giving customers cash back when they buy certain items at the grocery store.
Instead of clipping coupons and bringing them to the store, Snap asks shoppers to upload photos of their receipts after they’ve gone to the supermarket to buy groceries. Certain items — likely from brands with which Groupon has secured deals — are eligible for discounts, which shoppers receive in the form of a cash-back deal.
After building up $20 or more in savings, Snap users are cut a check from Groupon, which they can receive in the mail.
The new app comes from a previous acquisition; Groupon bought SnapSaves, a Canadian start-up that works much like Snap, earlier this year.
It is yet another move by Groupon to create revenue streams beyond the daily deals programs it initially became known for. Currently, Groupon offers a number of products, including coupons at partner retailers like JC Penney, as well as vacation travel packages and clearance sales on goods.
Since Groupon’s troubled initial public offering in 2011, it has struggled to convince investors that the company can regain the consumer demand it initially gained by taking the daily deals business to the mainstream.
But thus far, shares of Groupon have failed to climb back to the mid-20’s highs from a couple years ago; since February, the stock has not climbed above $10.