Google Offers finds more deal friends; Groupon left out
Google Offers is becoming more of a substantial service with the announcement that it has signed on over a dozen new deal partners.
Perhaps smartly, Google is obviously going after some of the smaller deal brands out there and bringing them into the Offers fold, acting more like Amazon Local and aggregating these offers rather than buying the companies out themselves. (Although, that could be a possibility down the road. How long can all of these daily deal sites possibly co-exist without being redundant?)
The new deal providers covering various industries are Dealfind, DoodleDeals, GolfNow, HomeRun, Juice in the City, kgbdeals, Mamapedia, Plum District, ReachDeals, Active.com Schwaggle, TIPPR, zozi, Gilt City and PopSugar Shop -- the last two of which are definitely more of the recognizable and enticing brands on the list.
Who's not on that list? Plenty of larger daily deal providers like LivingSocial and Bloomspot, but more so, Groupon. That isn't really much of a surprise -- although don't forget that Groupon and LivingSocial, among other deal sites, have been integrated into location-based apps like Foursquare, which does offer deals of its own too.
Nevertheless, Groupon and Google have been on the outs lately, and this move to sign deals with other discount dealmakers is intended to counter and go a step beyond Groupon's personalized deal program.
More specifically, Google Offers now includes a "personalization quiz" that asks users to identify their interests. From there, users will receive just one email -- which will be a major relief to some consumers -- that features deals tailored to those choices.
Google Offers group product manager Nitin Mangtani provided the following example on the Official Google Blog:
If you’re not the outdoorsy type or interested in cosmetic treatments, then we won’t send you deals for zipline adventures and laser hair removal. Don’t worry, if your interests change you can always update your preferences.
So far, deals from these new providers via Google Offers will only be available to subscribers in the San Francisco Bay Area at first, although the quiz is available everywhere that Google Offers already exists. Google promises to gradually roll out these expanded deal options in the next few months.
Related:
- Google to cops: Police brutality videos will stay on YouTube
- 'Google-like IT automation for the rest of us:' Puppet and Chef
- Google looking to build European high-speed fiber network
- Why Google would want Yahoo: A few opportunities could make it worth the effort
- Groupon gets it together with November IPO date