With another nail in the coffin to dismiss naysayers who believe that group buying is but a fad, a recent study by Australian customer and market analytics business Quantium confirms the success of group buying companies locally, announcing that the total spend across the top 21 brands in the group buying market for the third quarter this year was $155 million.

With 32% growth from the previous quarter, the industry is experiencing the ‘fastest absolute growth in value that the group buying market has experienced in any quarter’.

The average transactional spend has gone up 7%, with an average of $67 in the June quarter increasing to $71 in the September quarter. The study associates this growth to Australians becoming more confident about purchasing from group buying sites.

Market giant Groupon has also gone ahead with plans to go public, with its initial public offering of US$20 per share topping the charts as the second largest by an internet company behind Google.

Announced on 4 November, Groupon’s market value now sits at AUD$12.23 billion.

Group buying company LivingSocial also released survey results yesterday revealing that 65% of its Australian purchasing members did not mind going on a date where a voucher was used.

Colin Fabig, CEO of LivingSocial Australia and New Zealand, says, “Being conservative fiscally has become attractive. In light of recent economic events, consumers are looking for a partner who is responsible with money. As a result, group buying sites are more popular than ever.”

50.5% of respondents also agreed that they would be comfortable with gifting family members a voucher as a Christmas present.