Groupon Acquires CommerceInterface

Groupon announced recently that it has acquired CommerceInterface, a provider of web-based channel management technology and solutions, in an effort to enhance its positioning in the SMB market. Deal conditions were not disclosed.

The partnership between Groupon and CommerceInterface has been developing since April 2012, with the deal merchant using channel management solutions to streamline the growing Groupon Goods platform. Due to this collaboration, Groupon successfully improved operations and automated interactions with thousands of existing vendors within the Goods network, according to a Groupon press announcement.

However, once the scope of the developing project became “too big” for CommerceInterface, a company that has only existed since 2007, both parties found it best to make the relationship exclusive, according to Ivan Ramirez, Founder and President of CommerceInterface.

“After learning more about Groupon Goods’ plans, it made sense for CommerceInterface to become part of this amazing growth story,” Ramirez said in a statement on the company web site. “In business, you wait for that right pitch. And, as Warren Buffett has said, ‘If you do swing, swing for the fences.’ I strongly believe the Groupon Goods model is that right pitch for us at CommerceInterface, so we’ve swung hard.”

Groupon will leverage CommerceInterface solutions to extend and improve the global Groupon Goods business in 2013. This plan-to-action is hot on the heels of impressive results for Groupon Goods: the site reaching an annual run rate of nearly $1.5 billion in global billings during Q3 2012.

“CommerceInterface has proven to be an important piece of Groupon Goods infrastructure in the U.S., quickly and reliably streamlining the execution of orders and other vendor interactions,” said Faisal Masud, Head of Groupon Goods. “We look forward to enhancing our abilities to better support merchants overseas beginning early next year.”

CommerceInterface will serve Groupon exclusively and halt partnerships with other retail channels as a result of the acquisition. Current customers will have the option of transitioning to other vendors over the next six months, with company migration support, according to the press release.

Groupon has been on an acquisition spree over the past year, snapping up several start-ups such as Adku, Breadcrumb, FeeFighters, Hyperpublic, and Uptake. With a variety of new services and solutions under its belt, Groupon is beginning to establish its position as a “one-stop-shop” for developing merchants seeking platforms to sell their products more effectively.