The research indicates that spending on online deals will grow by an additional 23% in 2013 and may reach $5.5 billion by the end of 2016. Bigger players with access to particular targeting data, such as American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP), Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Google Inc.(NASDAQ: GOOG) and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) might become increasingly involved in the space.
In separate research, BIA/Kelsey found that more than one-quarter of small businesses surveyed said they were either “very likely” or “extremely likely” to participate in an online deal in the next six months. Nearly a quarter more said they are “somewhat likely” to do so. So more than half of the small businesses surveyed had a favorable view of online deals. The research suggests that online deals may become the status quo for small businesses that do not otherwise advertise online.