"Google Offers" Beta Launches Adding to an Already Crowded "Deal of the Day" Space

Pretty much the same time that Facebook launched its "Groupon Clone" they are calling "Facebook Deals", Google is launching "Google Offers" in 4 cities (New York City, Oakland, Portland Oregon, and San Francisco). Will all of these "Deal of the Day" websites end up cannibalizing each other, or will they all live in harmony? My all-time favorite has been Woot.com which was the first site that I saw with a one deal only for today type of concept. To a lesser extent I have always enjoyed various coupon websites which help to enhance my ecommerce experience on websites I am making my purchases on (I usually search for coupons before finalizing an online purchase).

For Google as well as Facebook, they have a clear advantage over any of the other deal sites because they can integrate their other properties (Adsense, Google Maps, etc.) into this new program.

Facebook vs. Groupon vs. LivingSocial

Today, in five test markets, Facebook will be launching, Facebook Deals, the same concept as Groupon with up to 50% off eateries, products, services and more. Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, San Diego and San Francisco will be the first to try this. The company kills in comparison with over 500 million people, to Groupon’s 70 million people and 28 million for LivingSocial.

"We're building a product that is social from the ground up," says Emily White, director of local for Facebook. "All of these deals are things you want to do with friends, so no teeth whitening, but yes to river rafting."

When a user signs on, clicking on the offers will bring up a list of the available offers. On Facebook, users will be able to do more with it though. They can purchase the deal, “like” the offer or recommend it to other friends all through a private message. It also has a great chance to become viral as when the person purchases a deal it will show up in their news feed.