The Commerce Commission is claiming credit for a halving in consumer complaints about daily deal websites in 2011, when their number exploded.
Across the 85 deal websites the number of complaints per month fell to 10 in October and November from an average of 22 complaints between January and June, the regulator said.
The type of complaints also changed from those relating directly to goods or services to misleading advertising or prices.
The Commission says it encouraged site operators to learn their obligations under consumer law and there are signs the industry has responded, said Greg Allan, manager of the competition branch at the Commission.
"The fast-changing nature of these deals means we have to be ahead of the game, rather than picking up the pieces at the end," Allan said. "We've been targeting websites, talking to them about their compliance programmes, checking how they vet advertising, and how they deal with complaints."
