Groupon Doesn't Want To Be Amazon Or Wal-Mart

In the future,

could follow in the footsteps of another major corporation.

But it's not going to be

or

. If Groupon begins to resemble any other firm, it will be

. During an interview with

, Eric Lefkofsky -- Groupon's new full-time CEO -- said that the company doesn't have enough SKUs to merchandise the site as much as he'd like. While he wants the merchandise selection to expand beyond the several hundred items that are currently listed, Lefkofsky does not want Groupon to grow into a big-box retailer. "The way I envision it, it will be a highly curated selection of deals," he told AllThingsD. "It's not going to be a big-box retailer like an Amazon or Wal-Mart; it's going to feel much more like a Costco with a select number of SKUs." Lefkofsky also said that the company continues to spend "too much on shipping and infrastructure," which drove Groupon Goods' gross margins "into the mid-teens." "We expect that margins will improve over time as we scale these costs," he added. "But it is important to note that we could see variability quarter-to-quarter until then."

That variability is one of the reasons why analysts have taken a more cautious approach to the stock. They are beginning to come around, however. This week Jefferies

on Groupon from $6 to $8.50 and reiterated its Hold rating. Bank of America

from Underperform to Neutral and raised its Price Target from $5 to $11. These firms were inspired to change their Price Targets after Groupon released its second quarter results, which created a

. Groupon soared to nearly 17 percent during after hours trading on Wednesday, August 7. The stock soared even higher on Thursday but tapered off before the market closed. As of this writing, Groupon shares have experienced a slight increase after rising less than one percent on Friday. While the second quarter results provided a reason for traders to invest in Groupon, some analysts were intrigued by the company's potential weeks before its earnings were released. When Wunderlich Securities initiated coverage of the stock early last month, it applied a Buy rating and said that the

. With new services like

, the company hopes to expand on those opportunities while providing its customers with new options.

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