Oasis has become one of the first high street retailers to provide an offer on a group buying site, following in the footsteps of Asos which offered a £20 voucher for £9.

It’s giving customers the chance to buy a £25 voucher for £12, and if the popularity of the Asos deal is anything to go by, it’s likely to go down well with shoppers.

These deals are particularly popular with younger shoppers, and that certainly seems to be the market LivingSocial, the network Oasis is using, is going for. Its welcome email tells shoppers “we’re pumped you’ve joined our crew.” I too am pumped I’ve joined the crew – these deals are great for customers and if big retailers start signing up it will make them even more useful.

Retailers in the UK have so far avoided these sites, but if an offer is popular there are obvious brand awareness benefits and the added bonus of increased traffic to the website. It’s also good for customer loyalty and perhaps targeting a new market.

Some of the deals on sites like Groupon are not quite as useful as Oasis’ offering – and despite the growth of the channel in the last couple of years, it will need more big retailers to start getting involved before group buying sites become a central part of online commerce. But from a retailer’s point of view it’s a good feather in your cap to have, and another channel through which to boost traffic.

Oasis says it hopes deals like this one will help it access a new market. E-commerce manager Lindsay Clifford-Smith said: “At Oasis, e-commerce is a key focus of our multichannel strategy. Whilst our existing email subscribers and social media followers are steadily increasing, partnering with LivingSocial has provided us with an exciting opportunity to access a new customer base and welcome them with an exclusive online offer.”