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Advances in information technology affect the ways to establish business relations worldwide. The ease of purchase and sale through the Internet has spawned a new business model called e-commerce. Along with this model had the opportunity to conduct business, which encompasses much more than simply buying and selling model called e-business that has attracted entrepreneurs with innovative ideas that revolutionize the business world. This paper aims to understand the group buying system analyzing its main participants: the collective shopping sites, their consumers and merchants, in addition to a review of the main figures in the Brazilian scene. The group buying has become a promising market and is constantly expanding because it uses the virtual universe to publish deals that reach 90% discount, where traders have the opportunity to advertise their products and services and thus retain and engage a greater number customers and they in turn have the opportunity to learn about new products and services for a better price than if practiced in the traditional commercial centers. However, the scenario is not the most optimistic, a few companies that are consolidated in this segment, as is the case of Groupon, which is the fastest growing company in history, breaking the barrier of $ 1 billion dollars sales in just two years of existence. In Brazil in the 1.963 sites with activities for group buying, only 61% still remains active, inactive 17%, 11% being customer base, 6% are already damaged and 5% are disabled.

e-commerce; e-business; group buying; consumer; businessman