Yesterday, a Groupon point-of-sale app for iPad briefly appeared in the Apple App Store before it was deleted. The combination of the app’s disappearance with the fact that no announcement was made regarding the new app supports the conclusion that the app was released accidentally and prematurely. However, in the time that it was available, 9to5Mac was able to review the app and provide a detailed description:
The new Groupon POS app appears to be a scaled back version of the Breadcrumb POS app that the company acquired last year with the iTunes page noting that it best suited “for a wide variety of merchants from cafes and delis, to salons, spas, and florists.”
The iTunes page also says the app will work “with an optional cash drawer and printer,” although its unclear if Groupon plans to sell the hardware directly to customers like Square recently started doing with its business in a box offer.
It is difficult to understand the motivation for this “scaled back” version of Breadcrumb, especially with Breadcrumb already offering both a “Pro” version ($99/month) and a “POS” version (no monthly fee), with the latter a relatively scaled back version itself. What is clear is Groupon is embracing the future of mPOS; given the significant overlap between merchants interested in daily deals and those interested in mPOS, the motivation for this is significantly more transparent.
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