Deal or no deal?
Google has rolled out Places Deals in the UK and Europe, offering users shopping and restaurant discounts based on their location.
Facebook launched its newest service in the US last November, which lets users ‘check-in' to places via a mobile app to get deals and gives Facebook a stake in the lucrative business advertising space.
The social network announced deals with UK partners today; the first 30,000 Facebook users to check-in to a Starbucks received a free cup of coffee, while the first 1,000 people to check-in to Debenhams bagged a free mascara and makeover, The Guardian reported.
Furthermore the first 4 people to upgrade their phone contracts and check-in to an O2 store could apparently win a free Xbox or PlayStation. Yo! Sushi, Mazda, Usher and Alton Towers also reportedly trumpeted offers, while Argos and Benetton are donating cash to charity based on the number of check-ins via the new Facebook service.
Firms can apparently list offers for free in Places Deals and Facebook will not get a share of the revenues from the promotions, perhaps encouraging smaller businesses to get involved. The 'free' structure apparently forms part of the company's commercial strategy of linking users to businesses and allowing firms to advertise. If a user keeps their settings completely public, deals they take part in will be published to their news feed.
Emily White, Facebook's director of local told the newspaper: "The wisdom of friends has taken over from the wisdom of crowds, through a highly personal experience in the real world, and Facebook local enables users to take that Facebook identity out and about with them as they experience the real world - likewise using that to inform that Facebook identity. Places is the 'where' to 'what am I doing' and 'who am I with'. And it allows businesses to start joining the conversation."
Venues apparently display a ‘golden ticket' next to their names on the Places Deals part of the facebook app and while users can see the deal and claim it, getting the offer by showing a voucher on their handset, their details will not be shared with the business.
However, Facebook's Places Deals is not just about vouchers and discounts but can be used to help customers donate to charity or gain loyalty points, according to the company. In this way, Facebook reportedly maintains it is not going head-to-head with Groupon.
White reportedly said: "[Places] is about where you are at the moment. It is very different from Groupon's offering today and takes advantage of the unique platform Facebook has."
However it is hard to imagine that Facebook will not be eager to capitalise on Groupon's lucrative voucher market. The voucher super-site is believed to be planning an IPO with many banks valuing the company at around $15bn. Groupon rejected an acquisition offer of around $5.3bn from Google in December.
Of course when Places launched, many people commented on the similarities between Facebook's service and those of Foursquare and Gowalla. But now Deals also arguably puts Facebook in advertising competition with Google, which is believed to make most of its $29.3bn revenues from web advertising.
