Google are offering users within the Portland (Oregon, USA) area deals with local businesses. They will receive an email for Google, offering them $10 worth of food and products from a local coffee shop for a low price of only $3. This is Google’s first step to take on the coupon/deal space that includes some major players such as Groupon. They introduced Google offers in January after they failed to purchase Groupon at the end of 2010 for $5 billion.
Members will get offers Monday – Friday, and once at the weekend. The business owners that create the offerings will get a dashboard that will give them an idea of the success rate of their offers. They will also receive guidance on how you create the offer themselves, giving them extra freedom. A sample of this can be seen below:
The Google Offers will be tied to Google Wallet, a mobile application allowing people to pay for their purchases. The Vice President for Commerce at Google, Stephanie Tilenius, stated the company would not charge the customers or retailers for this application or for payment, but will essentially monetise the service by taking a cut of offers or the coupons that one buys. Offers are expected to launch next in San Francisco and New York in the ‘near future’ according to Google. How long will it be till it comes over to the UK, let us know your thoughts?
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