Mountain View, California — In an attempt to further its daily deals program, search engine giant Google has launched a new indigenous iPhone app for its Offers daily deals service, the company announced today in a blog post.
While Google Offers, at its core, may not have become as popular as its rivals like Groupon or LivingSocial, the service continues to churn out tons of deals in about 40 cities in the U.S.
If you use Offers, you will now be able to pick up attractive deals near you on the map and keep better track of those deals that you have signed up for on your iPhone. The app can also send you notifications if new deals are available or if deals you have purchased are close to expiring. More so, users who sign up for daily email offers from local businesses willing to give potential customers heavy discounts to become patrons of their establishments.
“We have loads of offers you can purchase in advance and thousands of free offers that you can use instantly or save for later,” Google says. “Either way, when you are ready to use your offer, simply open your Google Offers app at the business and show your offer!”
Among the nifty feature of this free app, available now through the App Store, empowers you to tap into your phone’s location to offer up nearby deals. It can also send you push notifications if you are in the surrounding of a deal, allowing you to purchase directly from the iPhone.
The company mentions the following features inside the well-designed app:
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Instant savings, just around the corner: Quickly discover offers near you in map view or search for deals by category to easily find the right deal for you.
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See & use the deals you want, when you want them: All of your purchased and saved offers are tracked in “My Offers,” for easy access from your iPhone or online.
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Savings made simple: Instantly redeem most offers with your iPhone, without having to print vouchers.
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Never miss a great deal: Get notifications when new deals are available or when a deal that you’ve purchased or saved is about to expire.
At this point, the latest app for iPhone is only available in the U.S. Cities that currently feature Google Offers deals include: Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Brooklyn, Charlotte, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fort Worth, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, NYC, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Oakland / East Bay, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Orlando, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, St. Paul, St. Louis, Tampa and Washington D.C.
Google currently has partnerships with “loads of deal sites and thousands of local businesses” to power its Offers product.
In fact, when you initially download the app, it will ask for permission to access your location, and ask for you to sign in with you Google Account. It will then ask if you wish to receive push notifications before diverting you to the deals page.
Clearly, Google Offers still has a great deal of expansion to do. At least it will be available across platforms as additional cities are appended. Current deals will be listed under the “Featured” tab. New York, for instance, is now offering: $25 for $50 worth of Cuban food; $20 for haircut, shampoo and deep conditioning; and $174 for a one-night weekday stay at Mohegan Sun, among other things. Anything you purchase will show up in the “My Offers” tab.
The “Browse Offers” tab allows you to search deals by category — from Food and Drink or Beauty and Spa to Auto Care or Creative Classes.
An important thing worth noting here is that the app (much like the new Google+ Flipboard integration) should also help Google bolster its presence on iOS devices, in view of Apple dropping Google for its Maps app. Given that Google+ and Google Offers are directly related to local search.
The app can be downloaded from the App Store. The app is also available for Android devices.