Australia's most popular group-buying websites including Groupon and Cudo have launched a world-first industry code of conduct to protect shoppers from misleading offers.
The Australian Group Buying Code of Practice was launched yesterday by the Australian Direct Marketing Association and the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association, which represent the nation's biggest group-buying firms.
The group-buying industry has grown exponentially since launching in Australia in 2006. A Telsyte market report shows the market grew from $123.9 million in the second quarter of 2011 to $158.5 million in the third quarter and is on track to exceed market forecasts of $400 million for the calendar year.
The move to adopt a code-of-conduct could have been aimed at pre-empting any government moves to regulate the industry in the wake of complaints about shoddy deals and deceptive advertising.
The most visible feature of the Group Buy Code for consumers will be the adoption of a logo that participating group-buying companies will display on their products to let consumers know they are signatories and they can expect a certain standard of service.
Cudo (which is owned by ninemsn), Groupon, Jump On It, LivingSocial, Ouffer, OurDeal, Scoopon and Spreets have all signed up to the code as founding signatories.
The code also establishes an "independent and open" complaint-handling process. If the shopper cannot reach a satisfactory deal with the group-buying company concerned then they can contact the ADMA Code Authority which will handle the complaint on their behalf.
Australian Direct Marketing Association chief executive Jodie Sangster told ninemsn: "We're interested in making sure there are some standards [across the industry]".
She said consumers expect companies to behave in a certain way and the code would help bring consumer expectations and corporate practices closer together.
"Consumers will feel better knowing there is somewhere they can go to make complaints," Ms Sangster said.
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