Yeah, was in the $Z I mentioned. It's actually more than just using up normal operations. Most physical businesses have a core group of users that like the 'ambiance'. When you bring in all of these new customers, you break that. Maybe it's too crowded for two weeks, maybe wait times get too long. That leaves a bad impression on regulars who might be less keen to come back. So as soon as the coupon expires, you nearly all the new groupon customers and you've lost a share of your regulars too! That has to go into $Z too.

I get the feeling just estimating $Z is a major task, and needs to be done for every customer. So I'd guess the next 'Groupon with AI' would need to be structured around helping businesses that use them minimize $Z.

I think it's a good market actually - but it's going to need a lot of finesses and expertise. The groupon method of bludgeoning businesses with quantity didn't turn out to be correct.