Move over Foursquare, Facebook Places is making a move. Socialized mobile has made SM headlines for months now and is here to stay. A couple of weeks ago, Facebook announced they are launching a new application called “Deals,” a functionality that allows the user to find deals at nearby businesses. Essentially, this gives local businesses the opportunity to offer you a deal when you check in to their location.
These deals will fall in to four categories: Individual Deals offers discounts, free stuff and other rewards; Friend Deals allows you and a friend to claim something together; Loyalty Deals target regular customers and Charity Deals gives you the chance to donate to a charity.
Here are some examples of what brands are doing now.
Individual Deals: Gap gave away a pair of jeans to the first 10,000 people to check in to one of their locations.
Friend Deals: Starbucks has a custom application tab that allows you to share a “red cup” with a friend. It’s a little misleading in that you think you are sending a free drink to a friend, but really your friend still needs to check in to a Starbucks in order to receive the free offer. Either way, you still get a deal.
Loyalty Deals: There are no examples right now as this is new, however as soon as this takes off, regulars will start to reap the benefits.
Charity Deals: This is a little different in that you are not really getting a deal. However, when you check in at a McDonald’s, they donate $1 to Ronald McDonald House Charities and when you check in at a Starbucks, they donate $1 to Conservation International.
Facebook Deals is set up on the iPhone (you have to update the app) and on the Android you can access it via touch.facebook.com. The application is being rolled out in the U.S first, but will soon be expanded globally over time.
In other geo-location news… Foursquare has recently teamed up with Safeway and PepsiCo to reinvent the way grocery store customers view rewards by “checking-in.” It’s being set up through the VonsClub loyalty program and is set for a three-month trial run. Shoppers can set up their Foursquare account to unlock rewards from PepsiCo each time they shop.
As well, Disney has partnered with Gowalla to help people explore the magic of both Disneyworld and Disneyland. The connection will focus on custom Passport pages that not only allow visitors to show off Disney-branded stamps, but also a photo and check-in stream. Customers of the parks can literally collect stamps for everything from rides to fireworks shows.
So what does this mean for geo-location services and their customers? Another option for consumers to be able to check-in and get something in return we can actually use. If you are interested in what companies are currently offering Deals, check this out and get yourself a deal!
With three major players in the war of “checking-in”, it should be interesting to see who stands above the rest once Deals gets up and running. Can Foursquare and Gowalla really keep up with Facebook’s attempt to conquer all things social?
