Welcome to the e ily Deal Builder

Training Webinar. We are going over 8 Predictions for the eCommerce, Coupon,

and Daily Deal Industries in 2014.

Presented on Jan. 8th 2014 by Marc HorneCo-Founder, DailyDealBuilder.com

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Throughout our history, we have

learned that a good indicator of

future behavior can be found by

viewing past history.

In the grand scheme of capitalism, the daily

deal and ecommerce industries are in their

infancy; however, behavior over the past few

years can give us insight into what will be

happening over the next couple years.

2013 saw some major tech news...

Apple updated its mobile operating

system, iOS 7, which got new

features and a fresh look. The

company also released two new

iPhones and two speedier iPads.

2 of the 3 major game-machine makers

released new versions of their popular game

consoles. The PS4 and Xbox One are battling it

out for consumers' dollars.

VS.

Microsoft made some major moves in 2013 as it

attempted to break into the mobile market. In

addition to updates for its young desktop, tablet

and mobile operating systems, the company

bought Nokia's phone division and announced

the departure of longtime CEO Steve Ballmer.

The age of wearable technology is not fully here

yet, but in 2013 a crop of prototypes took their

first unsteady steps towards common use.

Google spread its Glass eyewear to thousands

of early testers, while companies launched

various smart watches and fitness trackers.

Virtual currency Bitcoin has been around since

2009, but in 2013 it picked up serious

momentum. It rocketed in price and popularity

while fighting for mainstream acceptance and

against regulation. But is it just a bubble?

Let's look at other huge

technology related events of

2013 and how these will relate

to us in 2014.

Edward Snowden released 1.7 million

documents to Glen Greenwald of The

Guardian that detailed the NSA Spying

Programs that track cell phone and internet

data. This news affects nearly every

citizen in the United States and beyond.

The major tech companies denied involvement,

though it seems almost impossible to me that

this is the case. We have only just scratched

the surface of what the NSA is doing with their

massive data centers.

Can the NSA record video directly

from your webcam and phone

camera? The technology exists.

Is the NSA collecting every bit of

data imaginable from our internet

and phone activities? Yes.

These NSA Files have opened

up a large scale discussion

about privacy issues in the 21st

century and this story will

continue to have a major impact

in the U.S. and abroad in 2014.

1. The "Hacking War"

Builds Momentum in ‘14

Prediction

1. The "Hacking War" Builds Momentum

Privacy / Security Issues and high-profile hacks grew like wildfire

in 2013 and I'm predicting 2014 to be much worse.

A series of hacks launched by groups like the Syrian Electronic

Army, Anonymous, and possibly the Chinese military made

headlines throughout 2013.

News organizations like the New York Times and Washington

Post were targets as well as major tech companies including

Twitter, Facebook, SnapChat, and Apple.

1. The "Hacking War" Builds Momentum

As more innovative technology is continually released over 2014,

the "Hacking War" will almost certainly continue on, and even

increase.

It doesn’t just happen to the big players, either. Secure your

sites, protect your customer’s data and privacy, and do everything

in your power to maintain website security and password security.

2. There will be continued

consolidation, investments, and

buyouts in the tech world.

Prediction

2. Continued consolidation, investments,

and buyouts in the Tech World

In 2013, Twitter's initial public offering was the most anticipated tech IPO since

Facebook's rocky debut in 2012. It created a new crop of tech millionaires and

billionaires, but raised questions about the profitability of the social media

company's young ad business.

In 2014 I am predicting that many of the larger tech companies (Microsoft,

Apple, Groupon, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, etc) will continue investing huge

sums of money to buy up smaller competitors entering the marketplace.

I predict that funding and VC in the daily deal industry and tech industry as a

whole will continue to see growth (again, not just the larger companies).

Although, in the grand scheme of capitalism, the

daily deal industry is in its infancy, I believe it has

progressed incredibly fast through the industry

lifecycle and is entering the "maturity" phase.

3. Micro Videos Will Change

Communication and Everyday

Interaction

Prediction

3. Micro Videos will change communication

and everyday interaction

First Twitter released Vine, a new social app for sharing six-

second videos.

Facebook bought Instagram quickly followed by allowing videos

up to 15 seconds long.

The new medium has already taken off with clips of breaking

news, artsy creations and a new kind of "selfie."

3. Micro Videos will change communication

and everyday interaction

Snapchat momentarily leads the rise of messaging apps. It was

dismissed as a simple app for sexting teens, but Snapchat, like

other upstart messaging apps, has a fast-growing user base. It is

seen as a threat to traditional social media like Facebook, as well

as old-fashioned SMS text messaging.

I predict that in 2014 short micro-videos will become a more

integral part of life and the way we consume information and

connect with friends.

How can your company capitalize from this trend?

4. Smart Phones and Tablet

Internet Traffic Overtakes Web

Traffic

Prediction

4. Smart Phones and Tablet Internet Traffic

Overtakes Web Traffic

I'm predicting that in late 2014, mobile traffic from smartphone

and tablet users will exceed web traffic.

Regardless if my prediction comes to fruition, the reality is that

your business must prepare for mobile traffic in 2014 because the

line graphs are seeing a steady increase of mobile and tablet

users and traffic.

Whether or not you create native apps, HTML5 apps, or simply

make your website mobile optimized... You can expect more and

more of your website traffic to be from devices.

5. Importance of Value Added

Upsells Continues Growth

Prediction

5. Importance of Value Added Upsells Grows

It will be more important than ever to work out arrangements that

cause a win for the merchant, a win for the employees offering

the deal, a win for the customer, and a win for the daily deal site.

We have seen merchants burned time and time again because of

improper planning. We have also witnessed what happens when

the customers are upset about a poor daily deal.

There is a reason the larger companies are acquiring smaller

ones… To be able to instantly provide value added upsells and

additional services to their userbase.

5. Importance of Value Added Upsells Grows

It will also be important for daily deal sites and all ecommerce

sites to not only focus on making their merchants and customers

happy, but also work with the merchants and businesses to

ensure employees don’t get the wrong end of the deal.

Profitability in 2014 will be directly impacted by how well

your organization offers value added upsells and

complementary products and services to your users and

customers.

6. Smaller, niche-specific sites

will continue upward growth

and expansion

Prediction

6. Smaller, niche-specific sites will continue

upward growth and expansion

Being the “first mover” in nearly any industry definitely has

upsides.

It has its own set of downsides too, but in the daily deal industry

the first mover companies who got a jump on their competition

have had huge advantages and have been growing and gaining

traction very quickly.

There are many niche specific daily deal sites that have

continued to launch over the past few years and they are popping

up in random industries and odd, niche specific markets.

6. Smaller, niche-specific sites will continue

upward growth and expansion

Low barrier to entry in the ecommerce and daily deal worlds leads

me to predict that we will see a continuation of successful,

smaller ecommerce players.

Niche specific sites and smaller geographic based players will not

only continue to launch, but I predict that many will continue to

see growth and profitability in 2014.

People appreciate supporting local companies and enjoy

hobnobbing with like-minded individuals. This trend will

grow.

7. Lawsuits continue and

patent trolls will keep filing

suits and causing trouble

Prediction

7. Lawsuits continue and patent trolls will

keep filing suits and causing trouble

As new, innovative technologies continue to be released, it opens

the door for patent trolls to claim they own the rights to said

technology.

2014 will see some major lawsuits from companies claiming they

patented certain ideas years before they were implemented.

As our society becomes more technologically advanced, we are

seeing more and more lawsuits and patent trolls coming out of

the woodwork.

8. Crowdsourcing and

Crowdfunding See Immense

Growth

Prediction

8. CrowdSourcing / Crowdfunding

In 2014, crowdsourcing and crowdfunding will become an integral

part of the way smaller (and some larger) companies acquire

funding and get tasks accomplished for the best price.

Crowdsourcing and funding gained a lot of press in 2013, and I

personally believe they will be a game changer in 2014.

Other Trends that We Predict

Will Be on the Rise…

3-D Printers

3-D Printers

Additive manufacturing or 3D printing is a process of making a

three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital

model. 3D printing is achieved using an additive process, where

successive layers of material are laid down in different shapes.

They gained a lot of press in 2013, and I personally believe they

will be a game changer in 2014.

Ease of Use

The easier it is for your

customers to buy from you,

the more buyers you should

have.

I believe ease of use is one

of the biggest reasons why

Amazon has continued to

dominate.

1-click purchases and

recommended products

make the site an absolute

pleasure to shop at.

User Generated Recommendations

For years, I have been preaching that user generated recommendations are

the most powerful form of advertising that any company can utilize.

This was a big one for most of the winners of 2013. They made it as easy as

humanely possible to share their website and deals with friends and

colleagues. Those who ran contests and actually incentivized users to share

yielded even better results.

We’ll see what plays out… Make plans now! – P.P.P.P.P.P.P.

Thank you for attending our webinar.

We are confident you will absolute love

working with us. To learn more about

Daily Deal Builder, we invite you to visit

us online at:

dailydealbuilder.com