#Groupon vs #Facebook #Deals vs #Google #Offers | #Social #Commerce Today

Whilst we wait for a new Amazon-Woot!-LivingSocial move, Facebook and Google – seeing the licence-to-print-money success of Groupon local advertising – have come out with there own Groupon-with-a-twist clones – and are beta-testing them now in a limited number of US cities.

Groupon

• 70 million members
• The Deal: 50%+ Off, Minimum Purchases Required
• Costs: 20%-50% commission
• Reasons to Choose: Market Leader, Core Business, Extensive Local Rep. Network
• Reasons to Avoid: Steep Discounts Required, Steep Commission
• Of Note: Self-serve option as well as full managed campaign
• Social: Group-Buy Mechanic, Referral Rewards, Social Network Sharing
• Go to Groupon

Facebook Deals

• 600 million members
• The Deal: No Minimum Off, No Minimum Purchases Required
• Costs: TBC (bundled with purchase of ad units?)
• Reasons to Choose: Platform Reach, Platform Integration, Deal Flexibility
• Reasons to Avoid: Lack of Experience, Unproven, Facebook ‘Hobby’ – not core business
• Of Note: Payment by Facebook Credits could reduce friction
• Social: ‘Social’ Focused Deals, Referral Rewards, Deep Integration with Facebook**
• Go to Facebook Deals

Google Offers

• 200 million members*
• The Deal: Minimum 50% off, No Minimum Purchases Required
• Costs: TBC
• Reasons to Choose: Leader in Online Ads, Integration with Search, Google checkout, Gmail and Place pages
• Reasons to Avoid: Unproven, Patchy track record in social/e-commerce
• Of Note: New twist on pitch – Get new customers who have paid upfront
• Social: None
• Go to Google Offers

* Gmail users (Google account necessary for deals)

** Facebook Deals are distributed in 8 ways on Facebook: Facebook Homepage, Facebook Deals Page, Sponsored Ad Units, Personal Messages and Wall Posts, News feed stories/updates, onsite notifications, deals tab, emails

via socialcommercetoday.com

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A First Look at Facebook's New Deals

Tomorrow, Facebook’s new Deals feature will be launching in five cities around the U.S.; here’s a first glimpse of how those offers will look and function.

First, users who opt into Deals will get to see opportunities specific to their locations. Those offers will arrive via email or, in some cases, will appear in the user’s news feed on Facebook.

To be clear, these aren’t like the checkin-based deals for mobile users that Facebook launched for its nascent Places platform; while the initial mobile Deals product competed with Foursquare, the new product competes more with Groupon.

Each deal will have its own Facebook landing page, as shown below. Users can “Like” a deal, share it via several channels on the site, or opt to buy it right away. When purchasing the deal, users can pay with credit card or Facebook Credits.

It’s unknown whether Facebook will make more money from Credits purchases than from traditional ones. A rep said via email, “We’re not disclosing details about revenue splits, but paying with Credits will work the same way as paying with a credit card. It’s simply another way for people to pay for Deals. We think this just makes things easier for people using Facebook.”

Check out the gallery below for a walkthrough of signing up for, finding, buying and sharing the new Facebook Deals.

via mashable.com

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