Four months after Groupon turned down Google’s $6 billion buyout offer, the search giant appears to have built what it couldn’t buy. The company has begun rolling out Google Offers, a new discount offer service that seems to be created in the mold of that daily deal provider that got away.
The initial launch of the beta service is in Portland, Ore., while residents of New York City, San Francisco and Oakland, Calif. are also able to sign-up in advance upcoming launches of Offers in their cities. Users need to register through Google, then will receive regular e-mails alerting them to deals and coupons in their area worth 50 percent or more off.This follows on reports back in January that Google was preparing a Groupon competitor. It’s unclear how Google will differ from Groupon and how it will compete with its rival Facebook in this space. Delivering a daily deal by itself is getting less interesting. Even Groupon is working toward more location-based, timely deals with Groupon Now, a new mobile app. Facebook is looking to exploit its social graph to make commerce more successful. There are ways to compete with Groupon: by taking a smaller cut from merchants or doing a better job establishing long-term relationships between merchants and customers
BY AKANKSHA ARORA
PGDM -2sem
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