Hi, my name is David, and I’m addicted to Groupon. I buy from there much too often, eat things I’d never eat otherwise, do things I’d never do otherwise, and generally spend a lot of money on things I would never miss otherwise.

But that’s the point of Groupon, and the reason for its appeal, says Felix Salmon:

More generally, of course, Groupons provide an important nudge to jolt people out of their day-to-day habits and try something new. A lot of us might see a new place open up and think to ourselves that we should try it some time; a Groupon turns that vague sense into something we really must do if we don’t want to lose the money we spent on the Groupon. By forcing people to pay for their Groupon, restaurants lock in new customers in a way that old-fashioned coupons never could.

In that sense, from the consumer’s perspective, a Groupon is a commitment device: it’s a way of forcing yourself to do something you really want to try at some point, but know that you might otherwise never get around to. The merchant persuades the consumer to make that commitment right now by making sure that the offer only lasts a very short time — usually only a day or two. The consumer knows that if they don’t buy the Groupon now, they’ve missed their chance.

The whole piece is a fascinating look at what Groupon’s doing right, and why the economics of its business are what make it so successful. But, he warns, success for a company like this only comes from its reputation, which only comes from repeated success for the companies making the deals. And whether or not a company like Groupon can bring repeated, lasting success to businesses remains to be seen.