Theoretically, if there were an Internet Marketing Awards show every year, it’s very likely that daily deals/group buying offers would have won the “Best New Vertical/Niche” category hands-down. Or at least played runner-up to mobile offers.

It’s really quite easy to see why services such as Groupon and KGB have has such success, what with the horrific economic climate that practically every region throughout the globe currently finds themselves in. Discounts, coupons and deals of any and all kinds are more important than ever before now, with the vast majority of people trying to pinch every last penny and get the absolute most value out of them.

To start, let’s take a look at a nice infographic on group buying in 2011 courtesy of GPlus.com:

Will the number of new Groupon subscribers stop rising anytime soon?

It’s obviously immediately apparent in the large jump of Groupon subscribers, in particularly from Sept. 2012 – Dec. 2012, Dec. 2010 – March 2011 and March 2011 – June 2011. The jump in subscribers from June 2011 – Sept. 2011 wasn’t as large, but that’s probably because there were already so many damn subscribers to begin with in June of 2011.

What’s even more striking is the statistic next to the graph, a quote from eMarketer that 47 percent of consumers would redeem some kind of coupon — either in a store or directly online at a website — in 2011. And that percentage is likely to grow even larger in 2012, especially combined with the ever-growing prevalence of social media. With so many people already utilizing daily deals and group buying services — and perhaps most importantly, the fact that these services are actually legit and aren’t of a scam/re-bill nature — the buzz surrounding them all is only going to grow.

And we’re already seeing advertisers and investors wising up, what with new daily deal/group buying offers popping up all the time but in more specific niches. (Mom Daily Deals anyone? Can you say JACKPOT?)

So is this what to expect the most from daily deals and group buying offers in 2012? It’s only natural really — with any successful and broad-spanning vertical — to ultimately spawn a countless number of much more specific niche deals and offers. Case in point, one of the new ones I just mentioned above: Mom Daily Deals. Has there ever, in the history of online marketing, been a better pairing of global demand with the absolute perfect niche demographic? Who loves coupons, deals and saving money more than mothers? I really can’t think of anyone!

Indeed, Groupon has recognized this and unsurprisingly begun implementing an option for subscribers to customize what kinds of daily deals they receive each day. No longer do you have to wade through day-after-day of 41% Off Homeade Soap and Half Off Ceramics Paintings deals that we’d never really ever be interested in. Instead, you can customize what types of deals and coupons you receive each day — in addition (obviously) to the immediate vicinity of your home or work location.

But will this be enough to combat new super-targeted niche type daily deal offers? It’s only a matter of time before some kind of Foodie/Restaraunt Lover type offer emerges from the pack. And the possibilities are really quite endless!

Factor all of this into the other “next big thing” in online marketing for 2012, mobile offers, and you’ve got yourself quite the trend. One that may very well last all of 2012 and into 2013. Who knows where it’s going to stop? Maybe when the economy levels out and gets out of the basement?

The whole year of 2012 is obviously going to hold host to a whole different variety of hot new offer types and this is just an example, but if you’re interested in getting into a vertical that is already popular and only getting more popular each and every day — not to mention an overall niche of offers that is extremely, extremely appealing to seemingly the vast majority of the planet — than you’d do well to look no further than daily deal and group buying offers. (You can thank me later!)

Well, except probably mobile offers. But we’ll talk all about those next week in another Look Back At 2011 & Ahead to 2012 feature here on the Wolf Storm Media blog. So be sure and stay tuned and feel free to bookmark us to ensure you won’t miss out!