This is a fair point. Though ultimately I doubt Groupon and Groupon-clones can expect to continue to strike the kinds of deals they have been with local busines

This is a fair point. Though ultimately I doubt Groupon and Groupon-clones can expect to continue to strike the kinds of deals they have been with local businesses. So while they might see a cost saving in the vertical integrating groupon as a means of selling more adwords, I doubt the profit margins groupon currently boasts will actually improve or even persists for much longer.