Merchant Center User Guide
Logging In The Merchant Center is the online management tool for your Groupon promotions. Here you can track redemption, read customer comments and view customer demographic information, as well as manage your loyalty program and create new Groupon Now! deals. Go to merchants.groupon.com. You should have already received an email with important information to help you prepare for your promotion, including login credentials for accessing your Merchant Account. Enter the login credentials provided in that email, and click Login. 2
The Dashboard Once you have logged in, you will be brought to the Dashboard. In the upper-right corner, you will see a Notification icon where you can read important messages from Groupon. Unread messages will be marked by a red flag. Click on this icon to view new messages. After your promotion closes, and as you progress through the redemption cycle, we will send you updates on what to expect in terms of customer flow, reminders for what you can do to prepare, and updates on new tools available to you. The top half of the page is divided into three sections, each dedicated to a type of Groupon promotion: Active Featured Deals: Here you ll see the total number of Groupons sold and dollars earned for all of your active (i.e., not yet expired) feature deals. The meter icon beneath those two figures illustrates how many vouchers have been redeemed and how many vouchers remain unused by Groupon customers. 3
The Dashboard Now! Deals: In this section, we show you how many Now! deals you have sold for your current week s promotions as well as the total dollar amount earned for the week. Below that, you ll see a graph that compares Now! activity from week to week. If you are not signed up for Now!, or if it is not yet available in your city, a promotional video will appear instead. If you have questions about Now!, feel free to reach out to your Groupon representative. Rewards: Under Rewards, you can see how many customers are participating in your Groupon-sponsored Rewards program, as well as how much money they have spent at your business. The graph illustrates customer spending activity over the last 30 days. If you are not signed up for Rewards, or if it is not yet available in your city, a promotional video will appear instead. If you have questions about Rewards, feel free to reach out to your Groupon representative. Tip: To see greater detail for each type of promotion, click on the header above the graphics. For more information on each section, please see pages 10-17. 4
The Dashboard The bottom half of the page is divided into two sections: one that lets you redeem Groupon voucher numbers quickly and easily and another that relays customer feedback directly to you. Redemptions: To redeem a Groupon, first click the Redeem online button. A new window will appear in the upper-right corner, next to the name of your business. Tip: You can also click on the barcode icon in the upper-right corner to redeem Groupon vouchers. Next, enter the Redemption Code. The Redemption Code is typically the eight-digit barcode number on the voucher. You can enter multiple codes at once, by scanning or typing each code and separating each entry by hitting enter. After entering the Bill Total and Tip Amount, click Redeem. The voucher will be marked as used, and the meter icon under Active Featured Deals will automatically update in real time. 5
The Dashboard Other redemption options are shown underneath the Redeem online button. You can download the Groupon merchant mobile application to redeem and track Groupons directly from your iphone or Android. Or you can download the voucher list in either a CSV or PDF file to manually track and verify Groupon vouchers. Click Download list and a new window will pop up. In the drop-down menu, select the deal for which you d like to see the voucher list and then the format. Choose a PDF if you would like to print the list or a CSV if you want to view the list on your computer. Note: Though some of our merchants manage redemption by downloading the voucher lists, we have found that it is easiest and most effective to use the mobile application or enter Groupon numbers directly into the Merchant Center. This allows you to enter the Bill Total and track how much Groupon customers spend at your business, which enables a more accurate calculation of your promotion s return on investment (ROI). 6
The Dashboard We ve also made redemption available through text messaging. Click Redeem by SMS and a new window will pop up. First, you ll need to get set up. Under Register a Phone Number, enter the phone number of the cell phone you ll be using to redeem vouchers in the blank fields. Click Register Number and the number just entered will be listed under Your Registered Phone Numbers. You may register more than one cell phone. From your registered phone, text the 8-digit barcode to 476-876 (GROUPN). You will receive a confirmation text in reply. You may also include the bill total in your text, separated from the barcode by a space (example: 12345678 21.86). Text HELP to 476-876 (GROUPN) to receive further assistance. 7
The Dashboard Customer Feedback: The Customer Feedback section provides insight into what Groupon customers have to say about their experience at your business. We gather customer feedback through post-redemption surveys. The pie chart shows the percentage of customers who would recommend you to a friend, and we ve listed all of your customers comments to the right of the chart. You can scroll through these responses by clicking Next 3 in the bottom-left corner of the section. Note: Only customers with Groupons that were redeemed online (via a smartphone or the Merchant Center) are eligible to receive post-redemption surveys. 8
Payments Click Payments in the gray bar on the left side of the screen to view a list of the payments sent to you by Groupon sorted by date. The list will include payments delivered to you either by check or by ACH deposit. Click on any payment to pull up more detailed information. Note: Remember that it takes up to 10 days from the processing date for checks or deposits to reach you. Most payments will display an itemized list of the promotions that are included in this payment. At the top of the invoice, you ll see the check or deposit number so you can easily match it up to what you received. Invoices will list each Groupon feature that is included on that check, deductions for credit-card fees, and your total earnings. Tip: Click Print in the top left corner of an invoice if you d like to save it for your records. To go back to the list of payments, click the X button in the top right corner of the invoice. 9
Featured Deals To view all of your featured deals, click on the Featured Deals tab in the navigation bar at the top of the screen or the header Active Featured Deals on the Dashboard. This will bring you to a list of all of your active, expired and scheduled feature deals. Click on the feature deal name to view details such as the number of Groupons sold, the earnings breakdown, an estimated payment schedule, and customer demographics. Note: If you have only run one feature deal, you will be brought automatically to the detail page for that feature. In the upper-right corner of the detail page, you can access the feature deal page on Groupon.com by clicking View Deal. Next to View Deal is the option to print the voucher list. Click on Print List and choose the format in which you would like to view the list. 10
Featured Deals Redemption Statistics: The meter icon illustrates how many vouchers have been redeemed and how many vouchers remain unused by Groupon customers for this particular deal. These numbers are updated in real time and will reflect delayed purchases or refunds. Customer Demographics: Here you can see demographic information for customers who bought a Groupon for this particular feature deal. The map shows the top locations of your customers by zip code and the graphs below illustrate their age and gender. 11
Featured Deals Earnings Details: This section shows the revenue that you earned through your Groupon promotion. We multiply the number of Groupon vouchers sold by the amount you take home for each Groupon to calculate the total dollar amount earned. If you set up a multi-deal and offered customers the choice of more than one option at the time of purchasing, each option will have its own line and earnings detail. The total earned for each option will be combined to reflect the total earnings for the entire promotion. Payments: Here you ll see your payment-processing schedule showing when you can expect to receive your payments based on Groupon s pre-set processing dates. Depending on how you are set up to receive payment, it will be available in your bank account within five business days or will arrive by check in the mail within 10 business days once we have processed the payment. Click view details at the bottom of the payment box to see how the payment amount was calculated. Remember, payments are calculated based on the initial quantity sold. Delayed purchases and refunds will be reconciled on the final check. 12
Now! Deals In this section, if you are signed up for Groupon Now!, you ll be able to create new deals, review your sales and earnings, and see the schedule for upcoming deals. Summary: At the top of the Summary page, a chart shows the number of Now! deals that you have sold within the current period, and the amount earned. To see the number of deals sold, as well as earnings information, for the previous two-week period, click on Previous Period to the left of Current Period. Below the chart is a schedule of all your upcoming Now! deals. Today s active deals are highlighted with green, and the upcoming deals are gray. Click on any deal to view more details. 13
Now! Deals Launching a Deal: If you would like to launch a new Now! deal, click New Deal in the top right corner of the Summary page. A pop-up will appear that allows you to fill in a number of fields to customize your Now! deal. Choose whether you want to offer a general discount (i.e., $10 off) or a deal on a particular service (i.e., $20 for a mani-pedi). Select your locations, and add any restrictions. Tip: The fewer restrictions, the more customers that will purchase your Now! deal. Only include instructions that are absolutely essential. When you re satisfied with the preview displayed on the right side, click Schedule Your Deal. Choose a start date and use the calendar view to set the times when your Now! deal will be available for purchase. Click Launch Now! Deal. 14
Now! Deals Deals: After clicking on a deal, you ll see sales and earnings statistics for that particular deal, as well as the details including your share of the money earned per deal sold and the participating locations. Below the details section is the deal s own schedule. Again, we ve marked days as active with green, and upcoming deal days are gray. If you need to pause your deal, click the Pause Deal button in the top right corner of the Deal Details section. And, if you would like to view the deal as customers do at Groupon.com, click on View Deal and a new window will appear with the deal page. To view all of your Now! deals, click Deals in the left-hand navigation pane. Here, we present the deal name, the status of the deal (whether it is live, closed or paused), the launch date, its schedule and the number sold per deal. 15
Rewards If you have signed up for Groupon Rewards, this tab will give you full insight into your Rewards program activity. Customer Reward: In the upper-left corner of the page, you ll see the customer reward that you created with your Groupon representative. Beneath the reward are the totals for customers who have unlocked the reward. Click Download Rewards Voucher List to download the list of rewards participants. Select either PDF or CSV format. Program Summary: A high-level summary of the program is in the upper-right corner, and it provides statistics on the number of participants, the number of visits to your business, and the total dollar amount spent at your business by Rewards-enrolled customers. 16
Rewards Top Participants: On the bottom half of the page, we list the top participants and rank them from highest to lowest by total dollar amount spent. You re able to see how frequently each participant visits your business and the total they have spent so far. Recent Activity: The Recent Activity table highlights when participants have unlocked a reward, how much they have spent during each visit to your business, and the date of their most recent purchase. 17
Log Out To keep your information secure, we recommend logging out when you have finished working in the Merchant Center. Click on the arrow next to your business name and select Log out. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to your Groupon representative or our merchant support department at 1-866-956-1276 or merchantsupport@groupon.com. 18