Canadian consumers who are becoming addicted to deep discounts through so-called daily deal sites like Groupon and Living Social now have another reason to keep their eyes glued to their mobile phones when they’re out shopping: Facebook Deals.
The social network’s Canadian division unveiled a scheme on Monday by which users who post their location to Facebook when they’re out and about can access special offers from nearby retailers. Facebook Deals, which launched in the United States last November, also rolled out Monday in France, Italy, Spain, and the U.K.
Users access the deals on their touch-screen smart phones through the Facebook Places function, which they then show to a cashier during the purchase. Currently, only consumers using iPhones, Android phones or BlackBerry Storms can participate.
Facebook’s 11 Canadian partners for the so-called public beta period include Chapters Indigo, H&M, Wind Mobile, and Town Shoes. Deals range from a free small popcorn and small drink for patrons of the four participating AMC Imax Theatres, to free access to the Plaza Premium lounges at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport (regular price: $35), to jeans for $5 (normal retail price: $19) at freestanding Joe Fresh locations.
As with most of the online coupon merchants, Facebook Deals will limit the number of people who can claim the individual offers.
Elmer Sotto, the head of strategy for Facebook Canada, said the Deals system reintroduced “serendipity” into the shopping process, which the daily deals sites can’t offer with their current models. “If you are on [Toronto’s] Queen West, and you’re literally just shopping and you click on Places, you see a deal at Kiehl’s or H&M on Queen Street, that’s something that’s highly relevant at that very moment, and you can then walk in and claim a deal – which can’t be replicated by something that you print out of your computer three or four days before you even want to go shopping.”
And the scheme is an enticing one for businesses seeking to increase foot traffic without paying the hefty commissions charged by the leaders in the daily deal space, like Groupon: Facebook says it is not taking any revenue from its Deals partners, except for businesses choosing to tout their deals through purchased ads.
Both Facebook and its partners are counting on people to do most of the advertising for them: When someone claims a deal, it shows up in their Facebook news feed, spreading the word to that user’s friends and effectively turning their post into an ad.
The move represents a long-awaited move by some Canadian retailers into technology-enabled location-based marketing. While that is one of the hottest marketing trends in the U.S., with retailers, sports teams, and other businesses using mobile devices to engage people on the go through such services as Foursquare, Canadian businesses have been slow to show interest.
By Simon Houpt
Source: CTV http://www.ctv.ca/generic/generated/static/business/article1889409.html
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