Groupon

Groupon is one of the most recognizable names in the daily-deals and local-experiences space, offering discounts on restaurants, spas, activities, travel, and physical goods across more than 15 countries. For affiliates, Groupon offers something few brands can match: a huge, constantly refreshed inventory of deals spanning nearly every category and geography, backed by strong brand recognition that helps conversions.

About Groupon

Groupon is an American global e-commerce marketplace that connects subscribers with local merchants. Shoppers use it to save on beauty and spa treatments, fitness classes, things to do, dining, auto and home services, travel packages, and a large "Goods" catalog of physical products. Typical local deals sit in the $20–$120 range, while travel and hotel bookings can run into the hundreds of dollars, giving affiliates a broad spread of price points and average order values to work with.

The brand operates localized sites for the USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Netherlands, Ireland, UAE, Belgium, Canada, and Australia, so publishers with international audiences can point traffic to the relevant regional program.

How the Groupon affiliate program works

Groupon's original in-house affiliate program, the Groupon Partner Network (GPN), permanently closed on June 15, 2022. The program did not end, however — Groupon migrated it to CJ Affiliate (Commission Junction), which now manages the brand's affiliate portfolio worldwide. There are three separate CJ programs affiliates can apply to:

• North America program
• United Kingdom / Australia program
• Europe / Middle East (EMEA) program

The headline terms on the CJ North America program are to earn 7% on every purchase made by a customer who hasn't ordered on Groupon in the past 365 days. Note that this is effectively a new-customer commission model — repeat buyers who purchased within the last year may not generate a payout. Third-party directories cite commissions of "up to 12%" across categories, so rates can vary by product line and region.

The program uses a cost-per-sale (CPS), single-tier structure with a short 3-day cookie window — one of the tighter cookie durations in affiliate marketing, meaning referred shoppers need to convert quickly. Payouts are made monthly, reportedly with no minimum payout, via bank transfer or PayPal through CJ. Promotional materials include HTML banners, image banners, and text links, and accepted traffic sources include link/banner ads, social media, and influencer channels.

To sign up, apply through CJ Affiliate. Groupon has historically been selective about approvals — some sources suggest publishers need an established site with meaningful monthly traffic to be accepted.

Who should promote Groupon

Groupon is a strong fit for:

• Coupon and deals bloggers whose audiences are actively looking to save money.
• Local-lifestyle and "things to do" publishers covering specific cities, since Groupon's inventory is hyper-local.
• Travel and experiences content creators who can promote higher-value hotel and activity bookings.
• Broad-audience sites and social/influencer accounts that can push seasonal sales (e.g., "up to 80% off" experiences) with strong click-through.

Because Groupon spans so many categories, it can slot into almost any consumer-facing niche — but the new-customer commission rule means it performs best where you can drive fresh buyers rather than existing Groupon users.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Massive, diverse deal inventory across local, goods, and travel — easy to find relevant offers for any audience.
• Strong, trusted global brand that helps conversion.
• Managed on CJ Affiliate, a best-in-class, reliable network with solid tracking and reporting.
• Monthly payouts with reportedly no minimum threshold.
• Separate regional programs (NA, UK/AU, EMEA) support international traffic.

Cons

• Very short 3-day cookie window — referred shoppers must convert fast.
• Commission on the NA program is limited to new customers (no order in the past 365 days), which can suppress earnings on repeat buyers.
• Base rate of 7% is modest; the higher "up to 12%" figures aren't guaranteed across all categories.
• Approval can be selective, potentially requiring an established site with real traffic.
• Many deals are low-ticket, so volume is needed to earn meaningfully.

Overall, Groupon is a dependable, high-recognition program worth adding for publishers with deal-seeking or local-experience audiences. Just plan around the short cookie and new-customer rules, and lean into seasonal sales and high-value travel deals to maximize the return. Applications go through CJ Affiliate.