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LatestDeals.co.uk hits £150 million savings milestone for consumers

Since its launch in 2016, LatestDeals.co.uk, a community-driven website devoted to helping shoppers find discounts, vouchers and bargains, has quietly passed a notable milestone. 

On July 29, the company announced that its users had cumulatively saved £150 million – no small feat for a privately owned business that began as an online forum for thrifty consumers.

Founded by Deepak Tailor, a past winner on BBC’s Dragons’ Den, and entrepreneurs Tom Church and Tom Kelsey, Latest Deals has swiftly grown into Britain’s largest deal-sharing website, counting more than three million registered users. 

Mr Tailor attributes the success to focusing on community-generated content – a strategy that contrasts sharply with rivals dependent on Google rankings or social media virality.

“Our users have collectively saved more than £150 million thanks largely to voucher codes and community-shared discounts,” Mr Tailor says. 

He argues that authenticity and trust – both increasingly scarce commodities online – have insulated LatestDeals from the whims of algorithmic gatekeepers and have turned user-generated content into an asset “highly sought after in an AI-stuffed world.”

Indeed, artificial intelligence presents both opportunity and risk. Latest Deals has eagerly integrated AI into its back-office functions, benefiting from improved efficiency and rising direct traffic. 

Yet the broader adoption of generative AI by shoppers and browsers might alter consumer habits unpredictably. 

Mr Tailor notes cautiously: “It’ll be interesting to see how behaviour changes; so far, it’s playing into our hands.”

An example of consumer behaviour changing as a result of AI comes in the form of AI-enabled browsers. Microsoft recently released a new version of Edge, its browser, with the ability for AI to make purchases and bookings. OpenAI’s ChatGPT now as Agent Mode, where an AI can control a virtual browser to research and purchase. Both of these bypass the typical route from a search engine to a publisher and finally on to a retailer.

Now the firm is looking beyond Britain’s borders. Inspired by successful communities in America, India, and Brazil, Latest Deals hopes to replicate its community-first model abroad.

Evidence suggests Latest Deals’ human-centred approach resonates even more strongly amid the rise of AI. Algorithms may change, but it seems people still prefer recommendations from other people. 

“It is telling,” Mr Tailor says, “that our fastest growing channel is WhatsApp. 

“It’s like direct messaging between friends. Whilst AI can give you a 1,000-word review of a product, nothing beats a friend saying it’s good.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Bdaily Publishing .