Group buying and curated local deals for pet owners

Group buying is a trend we’ve been tracking for years, but it was only recently that we came across an application of the concept to pet care products. Sure enough, that’s the premise behind Coupawz, a soon-to-launch group buying site for pet owners. Gearing up to launch next month, Coupawz aims to offer a variety of daily national deals that can be shipped across the United States, as well as a curated selection of local, hand-picked deals, starting with Austin, Texas. Discounts of as much as 50 percent will be offered through the site on products and services including grooming, veterinarians, boarding and more. Coupawz is currently inviting interested consumers to sign up for its email list in advance of its official March launch; for each person to do so, it will donate one free bowl of food to Austin Pets Alive. Support for other U.S. cities is coming soon, it says. Is there any limit to groups’ purchasing power? We’re thinking not. Which product category will you help to benefit from this trend? (Related: Broker creates local groups for collective solar purchasing — Online retailers install widget to enable group buying — Group buying for new parents.) Spotted by: Courtney Berry