Gift giving is one of those beautiful things in life that leaves both the giver and the receiver feeling better for the experience. For the giver, there’s no better feeling than seeing a smile of appreciation on the face of a friend or family member while they accept your token of kindess. And we don’t need to explain how awesome it is to be remembered and treated to a special present. After all, who doesn’t love getting a gift?

Thanks to the internet and daily deal websites, it’s easier than ever to let that someone special know just how you feel, and you can do it in mere seconds. Don’t believe me? Here are four ways daily deals are besting traditional gift giving.

Daily deal shopping is time saving

Giving a traditional gift means running from store to store in search of something that not only will be appreciated, but also something you can afford. It’s not an easy task. And once you’ve found the perfect present, you have to wait in line to checkout, and take the gift home to be wrapped and eventually delivered. Traditional shopping is a time suck!

Marci Lowerbough, Chicago grandmother of four, told us that it’s been tough to get around since she suffered a stroke two years ago, so she was thrilled to discover daily deal shopping. “My days of mall shopping have come to an end,” said Lowerbough, “but I don’t mind. I can shop for the whole family in one afternoon of online daily deal shopping.”

Daily deal shopping is less expensive

Whether you’re heading to the mall or your local big box store in search of a gift, luck plays a big part in what sort of gift ends up in your cart. If you’re minding your budget, price is your top priority while shopping, which means that unless you find an unbelievable, unadvertised sale, you may not get exactly what you went into the store for. Daily deal shopping, on the other hand, routinely saves consumers 30-90% off the retail price of everything.

Daily deal shopping gives you the ultimate in variety

Driving from store to store or walking from mall shop to mall shop is a must when gift giving, especially if you’re shopping for more than one recipient. With daily deal shopping, you surf to one website and are instantly met with hundreds of choices. Daily deals offer something for foodies, fashionistas, adventurers, tech lovers, kids, grandmothers and everyone else on your shopping list.

Daily deals are perfect for last minute shoppers

Who among us hasn’t forgotten the birthday or anniversary of a friend or family member? Last minute shopping in a brick and mortar store is a drag. When the pressure is on, most of us end up spending far more than we should on a gift we’re not quite satisfied with. With daily deals, however, anyone can pop online and pick out a gift in moments. And because gifts can be emailed to recipients, you’ll never miss celebrating another special occasion again.

What benefits do you enjoy with daily deal shopping? Tell us in the comments.

Big news in the daily deal market! Groupon announced this week that the company has sold its 1.5 millionth Groupon Now! deal. The record-setting buy was made at CiCi Nails in Chicago and was for a $30 manicure and spa pedicure, a service normally priced at $42.

Groupon Now! has been around for about a year and it's a geo-location and real-time based daily deal service that's currently available in 31 of Groupon's 175 markets in the United States. Groupon Now! buys are meant to be spur of the moment purchases, and they offer immediate savings at spas, local gyms, restaurants, and retail outlets. Groupon Now! vouchers were designed to attract new merchants who want a stream of active traffic at a particular time of day. Groupon Now! deals appeal to merchants because business owners can turn deals off and on on a day by day basis, controlling their own voucher traffic through a personalized online dashboard.

“We continue to attract new merchants looking for an effective way to bring in a steady stream of customers on the days and times they choose and are now live in 31 of 175 North American Groupon markets with more launching soon. Customers have demonstrated there is a real demand for this service and we remain enthusiastic about the potential for Groupon Now! to help merchants reach new customers and grow their businesses.” - Dan Roarty, VP of Groupon Now!

This milestone is significant because it took the original Groupon website some 15 months to reach the same amount of sales. Congratulations Groupon Now!!

The coupon has been around since the late 1800s when Atlanta businessman Asa Candler handwrote paper tickets offering free glasses of the newly developed Coca Cola to consumers. My, how far we’ve come!

Today, coupons are not only found in newspapers, but also online and even on your cell phone. And according to an infographic from CreditScore.net, daily deals have had a significant impact on the way bargain hunters shop.

A few interesting findings:

· ✔The first-ever daily deal was a half-price pizza in Chicago from Groupon.

· ✔Internet coupon usage is up 263%.

· ✔26% of shoppers use coupons and daily deal vouchers on food and drink.

· ✔Daily deal revenue is expected to hit $3.9 billion by 2015.

· ✔76% of shoppers think they save the most by using both coupons and daily deal sites.

How do your shopping habits compare?

Doctors remind us often to reduce the levels of stress in our lives, pay attention to our physical fitness habits, eat better, and learn to relax. Despite their repeated warnings, most still list things like obesity, stress, financial worries and not having enough hours in the day as the areas of their life they wish would change. And, ask a handful of your closest friends what New Year’s resolutions were made in 2012 and the odds are good you’ll find at least a few that promised to get fit and spend more quality time with their families.

Though we think of daily deals as bargain-rich websites that can help us save money, they’re also helping to improve our overall health.

Daily deals + physical fitness

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that more than one-third of U.S. adults are categorized as obese and 17% of children (that's 12.5 million American kids) ages 2-19 are also overweight.

Linda Bade, owner of Pink Sweat, a gym in Chicago, says she sees things changing. Bade offered up a year-long gym memberships at a 50% discount at the start of 2012, and increased her membership two-fold.

“We were overwhelmed with new families, new moms and busy dads that wanted to get back into shape,” claimed Bade. “We keep a leaderboard up on the wall at the gym and already our new members have lost over 2,000 pounds combined since the start of the year.”

Daily deal websites frequently offer health improving bargains like:

·✔ Gym memberships

·✔ Physical fitness classes

· ✔ Bike rentals

·✔ Sports store discounts

·✔ Swim lessons

·✔ Martial arts training

· ✔..and more!

Kyle Perri, a once overweight businessman from Atlanta, says that getting involved with daily deals saved his life. “My cholesterol was up, my blood pressure was through the roof, and my doctor’s nerves were frazzled,” said Perri. “I bought a gym membership off a daily deal site in 2011 and today I’m 100 pounds lighter, my numbers are normal and I’m in better shape than I was in college.”

Daily deals improving happiness

It isn’t only our waistlines that are shrinking with daily deal bargains, but also our stress levels. Carter Anderson is a single dad and the sole business owner of a bagel shop in St. Paul, MN. According to Anderson, it’s daily deals that have helped sustain his family. “We used to go out to dinner as a family, and then I’d spend days working extra hours, worrying about how much we’d spent,” said Anderson. “Now I buy a daily deal voucher for dinner at less than half the price of its value, and we have fun spending time together. No worries at all.”

Daily deal websites offer numerous ways to unwind, spend time with friends and loved ones, or just have some “me time.” Browse daily deals any day of the week and you’re likely to find all the following, and more:

·✔ Restaurant vouchers

·✔ Hotel stays

·✔ Bargain travel

·✔ Massages

·✔ Spa certificates

·✔ Vouchers for classes

· ✔Theater tickets

Daily deals have made it affordable to get healthier. And with more of us than ever before shopping for daily deals, that can only be a good thing.

When you think of daily deal shopping, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? If you’re like most, your thoughts immediately jump to how much you can save on a flight, hotel stay, or evening out at your favorite restaurant. That is, after all, how we use daily deals, right? Daily deals aren’t only improving the lives of consumers, however, but also those who make daily deals available.

A globally recognized artist makes it big with daily deals

Silhouette artist Carter Kustera has had his work featured in galleries and museums around the world. The 49 year old Kustera creates work in a wide range of mediums and had his art recently animated and used for U2's Pop Mart Tour.

Kustera is not only a talented artist, but also a smart businessman. Kustera spent much of the last year painting 5,000 captioned, expression-filled watercolor portraits that customers were able to buy only through daily deal websites. How's business? Kustera says he's seen an impressive 12,400 percent increase in his yearly earnings, all thanks to daily deal website sales.

“Once people started contacting me, many told me they had been following my work for nine or 10 years, but could never afford it,” said Kustera.

How this artist found daily deal success

Kustera first offered an initial sell of 3,000 silhouettes on Groupon. In January of this year, Kustera switched over to Cing.com, a relatively new startup that sponsors deals nationally, but takes no cut.

“Cing’s deal is better for the merchant,” said Kustera. “Cing offers national sales rather than targeted market-sales, which aren’t necessarily (offered) in the right markets.”

Kustera, who usually charges $400-$3,000 per silhouette, depending on size, sold his work for less than half price on Groupon, and offered small silhouettes on Cing for just $20.

“It has made a segment of my artwork, which might be considered the level of haute couture, like ready-to-wear,” he said. “In the long run for me as an artist, it may be better because I have a following of people who support me.”

The Daily Deal Summit kicked off this week in NYC. As an introduction to their panel talk today, SaveLocal of Constant Contact has released this infographic which highlights the goings-on of the 2012 daily deals market. The statistical analysis and reasoning behind these compelling figures will be explained in detail at a panel this afternoon.

Daily deals are a hot topic! Why, they sometimes even make the funny papers. The above cartoon was done by Tom Fishburne, a cartoonist who began drawing on the backs of Harvard Business School cases. Fishburne has been featured by the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Forbes, and the New York Times. Fishburne draws from 16 years in the marketing and innovation trenches. You can check out his work and his insightful thoughts on brands and marketing on his blog.

With the price of gas expected to surpass $4 per gallon this week in the United States, it’s important to remain frugal-minded about everything these days. Thanks to daily deal vouchers, it’s easier than ever to do just that. Here are just a few ways that smart shoppers are using daily deals to help care for their car.

Oil changes

My neighbor told me this morning that she made the mistake of getting her car oil changed in one of those quickie drive-thru oil shops last weekend. The total bill: $61.89. Ouch!

You can easily cut down on oil change costs by shopping daily deals. Groupon sold a daily deal voucher a few months back that gave consumers three oil changes for just $20, and other daily deal sites are doing the same with regularity.

Maintenance

As every smart driver knows, it costs more than just gas money to keep your car on the road. Fivecentnickle.com recommends putting away $1,200 per year to handle potential car maintenance costs, which could include things like A/C service, tire rotation, diagnostics, brake inspections, and so on. Thankfully, you can slice this cost by more than half by buying into daily deals. Last year, LivingSocial sold vouchers for transmission service at more than 50% off their value, and vouchers like that are not an unusual find.

Tires

According to Consumer Reports, one All-Season tire can cost as much as $160, or $640 to outfit your whole car with new treads, not including tax or labor charges. If you’re an avid daily deal shopper, you can expect to pay much less. It’s not at all uncommon see tire package deals when daily deal shopping that can save you as much as 80% off the retail price of new tires.

Repair

Need new brakes? Unless you’re an amateur mechanic, costhelper.com says you can expect to shell out $90 to $250 per axle. And that’s just for basic brake pad replacement. Daily deal shoppers know that you don’t ever have to pay full price for car repair. Watch for vouchers available from your local mechanic, national chain repair centers, and body shops. There are plenty out there!

Car wash

Washing and waxing the family car can be an enjoyable way to spend a Saturday afternoon. If you live in an apartment building or condo though, it’s likely you don’t have the space or ability to scrub down your own vehicle. Complete car wash packages purchased through daily deal websites can save shoppers as much as 80% off the full price of a car wash.

You may not be able to control the price at the pumps, but you can have a say in just how much you spend caring for your car. Putting daily deals to work for you saves a little wear and tear on your car and your wallet.

Daily Deal Summit is a conference series that focuses on the future of local commerce. During the two-day event, attendees have a chance to meet innovative companies and top of executives in successful businesses, daily deal and couponing websites, and more.

The details

The Daily Deal Summit is an open event, meaning that anyone with an interest in meeting today's top players is invited to attend. There are more than 180 companies attending Daily Deal Summit this year, including:

· ★ Amazon.com

· ★ Angie’s List

· ★ Bargain.com

· ★ Daily Deal Media

· ★ JustDeals.com

· ★ MasterCard

· ★ My Coupon Don

· ★ Saveology.com

· ..and more!

Daily Deal Summit East is being held at the Crowne Plaza Times Square oin April 17-18, 2012 in New York City. The special two-day event will begin with a day of general sessions, where you can hear keynotes and critical discussions by some of today's top thought leaders. Day two will feature breakout sessions, where leaders and top companies in the industry talk shop and provide tactical advice about surviving and growing in the daily deal space.

Tickets are limited, so hurry to reserve your space. Tickets go up by $100 a head after April 7 and are even pricier at the door. You can view the full agenda from the Daily Deal Summit East website.

While there are literally hundreds of daily deal websites in the United States, the UK has lagged behind a bit. Despite having fewer local group buying sites available, shoppers abroad have fallen in love with saving money by daily deal shopping.

The Kantar Media study

Kantar Media, a UK company that gives insights into the online behavior of consumers, recently released the results of their Online Shopper Intelligence Study. That study revealed that 65 percent of UK shoppers are always on the lookout for special offers, and 48 percent say they make a habit of using coupons, coupon codes and daily deal vouchers.

John Thekanady, UK client services director for Kantar Media Compete, said: “It’s clear that group buying sites build awareness and encourage impulse purchase behavior efficiently, but featured companies are failing to convert those shoppers into loyal customers - bringing into question the long term viability of these sites. With an expanding competitive set and talk of daily deals fatigue, group buying sites would be well advised to target their offerings to specific consumer segments to distinguish themselves and help advertisers reach a more engaged audience.”

The same study found that 25 percent of UK shopers visited daily deal websites on a daily basis. Groupon.co.uk remains the top daily deal site in the UK, followed by LivingSocial and KGBdeals.co.uk.

The Kantar Media Compete study can be viewed in .pdf form online.