The people who get the coupons are not the real customers in Groupons case, but rather the local shop owners. Supposedly, they've been having a good deal of tr

The people who get the coupons are not the real customers in Groupons case, but rather the local shop owners. Supposedly, they've been having a good deal of trouble getting repeat customers, they need to find new shopkeepers each round to make up for the last time. Hence why people are calling it a Ponzi scheme.