San Francisco — While Google Offers is busy reveling in the local discount spotlight for the time being, the Seattle-based online retailer Amazon is the latest to get on board with the very popular and crowded daily deals market and will partner with LivingSocial to bring local deals to your desktop.
The online retailer today launched a new deals service, AmazonLocal, in Boise, Idaho, which delivers local business discounts to your desktop. And in a departure from its regular discount formula, the coupons are redeemed at brick-and-mortar locations. The service would also vary from Amazon’s gold box deals, which offer items for a limited time based on quantity.
Besides, if you are a fan of Goody’s on North 13th Street, you should know you can get $13 worth of ice cream and shakes just for $6.
Here is what the site looks like:
“We will quickly be spreading out to other cities, but we liked the idea of starting in a city that embraces fun,” said Amazon in an online explanation of the product.
Apparently the blue “smurf turf” on Boise State University’s football field was a considerable factor in deciding where Amazon Local will launch.
AmazonLocal’s operation is no exception to the rest of its competitors: Users see a deal offering savings of 50 percent or more on local services, products, and experiences, have a certain amount of time to buy it, can share it via Twitter, Facebook, or e-mail, and can see how many have been bought so far.
Interestingly, what makes AmazonLocal apart from its more traditional competitors is that it is simply accumulating these ready-made discounts coupons that are already out there from sites like LivingSocial.
Moreover, subscribers will receive daily emails, be able to view the deals on the AmazonLocal site, review their purchased deals in the “Your Deals” section, and simply present the voucher to the business providing the deal to redeem it. Businesses would not pay to run a promotion, but will be charged a commission on each deal purchased.
Amazon says:
The simplest way is to print your voucher and carry it with you to the business. The business will verify the code printed on your voucher. Remember to check your voucher for redemption instructions, such as scheduling requirements, locations where it can be used, and expiration dates.
In order to lure businesses to AmazonLocal, Amazon is pushing its loyal customer base–more than 120 million active customers–and stats that say Amazon customers spend 70 percent more money online every month than the average Internet user.
Besides, there is also the temptation of earning points for your AmazonLocal purchases. Through the end of the year, the site will gift you five points toward the Amazon.com Rewards Visa Card for every dollar you spend on AmazonLocal. After the New Year, you can earn three. For the occasional Amazon shopper, that might not sound like a big deal, but to someone who routinely visits the site come holidays, birthdays, and basically any other gifting event, it is.
Amazon is just the latest newcomer to the online coupon scene, but it is likely to be a major contender. AmazonLocal will not only have to compete with daily deal sites like Groupon and LivingSocial, but offers from the likes of Yahoo, Google, Facebook, and the New York Times, which are just a few of the many companies that have launched their own deal services over the past few months.
While currently Amazon is only providing offers for the city of Boise, it promises “We are working quickly to bring great local businesses to our customers all over the country.”
Back in December, Amazon invested $175 million in LivingSocial. In January, LivingSocial offered a $20 Amazon voucher for $10, which resulted in the sale of 1,378,938 vouchers, far surpassing rival Groupon’s record-holding Gap promotion, which sold 440,000 vouchers.
However, Amazon Local offers can be obtained using Amazon accounts, a level of convenience that could prove more rewarding in the battled for discounted services.