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From her home in Dubai, Erica Shaw logs onto GoNabit.com, one of the newest group-buying websites in the Gulf region.

Well, first thing in the morning, I usually do check and see if I have any emails or texts from the night before, just to see what the deal of the day is.

The mother of three and American is just one of the many people in the region taking advantage of online group-buying that’s all the rage.

It’s not (only) such a way of saving money, but also introducing you to a lot of the new facilities that are offered here in Dubai.

Group-buying is a recently-developed shopping strategy originating in China. Several people connect over the Internet. The group then agrees to purchase an item or a service and benefit by paying less. The business benefits by selling multiple items at once.

Similar group-buying sites have popped up in Europe and America. Even though these websites have been up and running for a few years, here in the Middle East it’s a fairly new phenomenon.

Websites like Cobone and GoNabit have been growing exponentially in the Middle East due to the advent of the economic crisis primarily, as people are going online to look for deals basically. However, I wouldn’t say it’s a developed phenomenon yet.

The pioneer in the region is GoNabit. Launched in May, 2010, the company says it has a 40% market share. Its reason for starting the website was simple.

People are always looking to do more without necessarily expending any more. We don’t ship a physical product. You buy voucher and you receive it by Email. And so we don’t need to know where you live, we don’t need to know your PO-box, you don’t need to be home, you don’t need to ship across the boarders and tariffs and customs duties and VAT and things like this.

And there’re others. cobone.com, a play on the Arabic pronunciation of coupon was launched at the beginning of 2011.

Everyday we feature discounts on SPAs, restaurants and experiences across the Middle East. And so far, we’ve launched in the UAE. We’re now in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Since it’s launched its first online portal in Dubai, customers traffic has grown and the company has seen days with sales exceeding $350,000. But can a region known for its flash and cash, filled with gleaming buildings and gold dipping on just about everything make the switch from bling to bargains and couture to coupons?

It doesn’t matter who you are, where you live, everyone likes discount.

Especially in the land where bargaining and bartering are centuries-old traditions.

Kim Kelaita, Marketplace Middle East in Dubai.