Facebook has took a stab at the social shopping market, but there hasn’t been much traction. When they first rolled out “Facebook Deals” in April 2011, I was a bit skeptical and even rated the experience a 6 out of 10.
A year later and the news has broke out…Facebook Offers will be the next valid try at competing with Groupon. CNET has a good point that with the upcoming IPO, this may be their shot at gaining some traction with their Groupon killer. Could be…the future is in Facebook’s hands.
The idea of Facebook offers is good…the offers appear in your News Feed and give you quick call to actions to like, comment, share AND “Get Offer.” Easy enough and the offer will be sent to you via email or to your mobile phone.
Now, I do have to admit that my recent experiences with Groupon have not been pleasant. The buying experience with Groupon is great, but its when I present the Groupon at an actual restaurant or store. I seem to get unpleasant service as a result…almost like they treat me bad because of the coupon. I sure hope this does not continue with Facebook Offers.
Facebook Offers also gives people more incentive to “like” a particular company/store b/c with likes come offers…and with offers comes opportunities to SAVE money. Who doesn’t like that? Facebook can use their BILLION dollar user base to really become a challenger and if done right they can become THE leader.
Here’s a video showcasing the new “Offer” on Facebook: