Group-buying and flash sales platforms experienced a fast growth at the end of the last decade. Website operators such as Groupon and DeinDeal successfully form the pivotal point, where merchants offer goods and services to very low discounts and for a limited time to consumers. Flash sales websites serve as a high-volume sales market as well as a cost-effective advertising tool for its sellers.

The authors analyzed different flash sales operators in the UK, Germany, and Switzerland according to their business models, value creation, and suitability to conduct business for a specific firm in the food industry. Moreover, the specific websites were examined with a checklist based on theory and the client’s requirements. After the first examination of the websites, the different business models were portrayed and compared with each other.

The results show that flash sales operators do not distinguish themselves from each other and that only a small number of different operators enjoy success in the specific E-Commerce sector. The most successful flash sales website providers are Groupon (UK and Germany) and DeinDeal (Switzerland), which have the highest number of registered user and provide logistics as a service. Besides flash sale websites, the authors included Amazon, Couponplatz and coop@home as alternative sales channels. Amazon as one of the biggest online retailer in the world and with a reach of five market places within Europe is already a crucial business partner for many firms. Couponing, another kind of granting discounts online, is a self-service business model, where consumers may redeem their coupons directly in the merchant’s retail shops. Coop@home with its online supermarket delivery model may gain further relevance in the future and should therefore not be neglected by FMCG manufacturers.