Google Offers Debuts with High Hopes as a Groupon Rival

Floyd's Deep brown power go down in history as the first business to enter in Google's latest and greatest rollout, or it could be quietly swept under the rug along with Google Wave.

Favourable a massive advertising campaign in Portland, Ore., the first Google Offer went live yesterday. And appropriately enough for Stumptown, it's for coffee.

The mess offers 70 percent off at Floyd's Coffee, and costs $3 to get $10 Worth of coffee and goodies. There was some initial confusion however, as the deal actually becomes redeemable Thursday, not Wednesday when the offer was rolled impermissible. A few dozen people showed up wanting to redeem their coupon but had to be turned away.

Notwithstanding the misadventure, the deal seems to be going substantially, with only 399 coupons left out of 2000, equally of this written material. Google will offer deals every day, and one for the weekend. The company plans to roll proscribed the service to the Bay Area and New York next, though no dates experience been announced.

Google attempted to buy the largest player in the mathematical group-coupon space, Groupon, for a rumored 6 billion dollars lastly yr. When Groupon rejected the bid, Google presently announced information technology was working on its own social coupon Service. Groupon, which filed for initial exoteric offer (IPO) on Thursday, currently distributes online coupons from merchants in 500 markets and 44 countries.

We've written before about the potential pitfalls of much coupon services for small businesses, and so far information technology doesn't seem that Google plans connected doing more more than copying the evidenced model. Still, Google's reach and resources may prove to be enough for the giant to make over significant space in the crowded market.

But the question everyone is asking is, is information technology too late? There are now literally dozens of similar services peppering every metropolis and niche. And piece many businesses have found the service of process to increase awareness and supercharge immediate sales, there is bound to be a saturation point, both for the user WHO may have little trust to sign up for another coupon service, and the business, who realizes so much services are most effective few and Interahamw betwixt.

Ilie Mitaru is a culture and job journalist and an occasional entrepreneur. Atomic number 2 is the founder of the alternative business cartridge clip Gage, placed to launch in June.