Groupon acquires iOS point-of-sale app maker Breadcrumb

May 30, 2012 | By Jason Ankeny

Groupon has acquired Breadcrumb, which develops iOS-based point-of-sale systems for the hospitality industry. Financial details were not disclosed.

The Breadcrumb client application manages customer tabs, floorplans, labor and payments for businesses like restaurants, bars and nightclubs. Each iOS device functions as a "terminal" enabling employees to input orders, send tickets, receive payments and close customer tabs. The application integrates with traditional POS printers and cash drawers, with all data automatically syncing in real time in the cloud. The Breadcrumb app is free to download; services begin at $99 per month.

"Breadcrumb will continue to serve new and existing clients and we look forward to offering their product to our existing merchant partners," writes Groupon Vice President of Mobile Mihir Shah on the firm's blog. "Also, for Groupon merchant partners that use Breadcrumb's point of sale system, we'll be able to significantly improve the process of redeeming a Groupon."

The Breadcrumb acquisition follows days after reports stating Groupon is testing a remote payment service in San Francisco that processes payments using a terminal and an iPod Touch. According to VentureBeat, which cites an email and unidentified sources at Groupon, the social commerce giant is charging a 1.8 percent transaction fee and a 15 cent per-transaction fee for payments that are processed through the terminal. By comparison, Square's rival smartphone-based processing service charges 2.75 percent on each payment and no per-transaction fee.

Mobile devices now account for 30 percent of transactions on Groupon's daily deals platform, up from 25 percent four months earlier. During the company's first quarter earnings call earlier this month, CEO Andrew Mason said Groupon is entering a new phase in its business that signals a push toward making its products "smarter, more personalized, convenient and relevant," adding the firm will seek to create "an operating system for mobile commerce."

For more:
- read this Groupon blog entry