Having only recently launched its location-based Places feature, Facebook is reportedly testing a "Deals" service with which businesses can offer incentives to users whenever they check-in
to a physical store.
All Facebook, which broke the news,
calls the development "HUGE," suggesting that
"Deals" could immediately have a big impact on the hotly-contested local business market.
"Facebook plus Groupon?" ReadWriteWeb asks. "Considering how much profile and social data a Facebook Places check-in can carry as a payload, this
sounds a whole lot more valuable to retailers than a Groupon deal. This is very different than the kind of Places-powered hyperlocal advertising that most observers were expecting to monetize the
Places feature."
Not so , says SocialBeat. "It
certainly wouldn't be a huge surprise if Facebook announced a deals service."
"Deals could be a new revenue stream for
Facebook, depending on how companies are charged for running promotions and whether it can prevent abuse," writes
Inside Facebook. "The rewards system could also create the need for companies which help businesses manage their Deals. As more details become available, we'll provide news,
walk-throughs, and reactions from the ecosystem."
"What is unusual is how Facebook is reportedly structuring these deals," Social Beat adds. "Instead of
rewarding customers for visiting a store multiple times, businesses are supposed to give them deals if they tag a certain number of other people at the same location. So the idea is to encourage
people to bring friends to a location, rather than to become a repeat visitor"
Meanwhile, "Foursquare says retailers like the detailed analytics that it provides retailers,
but Foursquare doesn't have nearly the same level of profile detail on its users as Facebook does," adds ReadWriteWeb. "Almost no company does. Would you share selected parts of your
Facebook profile with the local brewery in exchange for a free round of beer? Many of us will."
Read the whole story at All Facebook et al »