San Francisco — Popular social media giant Facebook Inc. is planning to experiment with a service initiated by Groupon, which provides consumers buy discounted one-time offers, an effort to utilize its 500 million-plus members to capitalize on the surging online-deal market, as it looks for new ways to boost sales and attract local business customers.
The experimental service, which will let people share discounted offers with their friends, is part of Facebook’s existing Deals program, which lets businesses offer specials to users. With the new feature, Facebook’s staff will coordinate with businesses to spotlight deals and encourage users to share them with friends, Facebook said in an e-mailed statement.
The service will initially be introduced in San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas, Atlanta, and Austin, Texas, the company said last week in a statement.
“Local businesses will be able to register to use this feature soon, and people will be able to find Deals in the coming weeks,” the Palo Alto, California-based company said in the statement.
Facebook, the most populated social-media website, is playing host to a growing array of features, such as movie rentals and location-based services, to keep users engaged on its pages — and the ads that make up most of its revenue. With the planned service, the social networking giant is seeking to expand in the fast-growing US market for daily online coupons made popular by sites such as Groupon Inc and LivingSocial.
Industry experts states that daily-deal services will garner $3.93 billion by 2015, up from $873 million last year, according to BIA/Kelsey, a Chantilly, Virginia-based consulting firm.
Moreover, Facebook’s program will also enable users to avail discount deals through the service from partners including ReachLocal, Gilt City, Tippr, HomeRun.com, PopSugar City, KGB Deals, Plum District and Zozi.
The foray into the deals market follows Facebook’s alliance with Warner Bros., last week to let members watch the studio’s films. Users click a “rent” icon to see movies and pay the equivalent of $3 with Facebook Credits, the company’s online currency. Facebook gets a slice of sales when credits are used.
With more than 500 million users, Facebook seeks to attract more companies that want to do business with its growing user base. Recent advertisers include Starbucks Corp. and JetBlue Airways Corp. The social-media giant also is having discussions with Skype Technologies SA about offering Web video calls to its users, two people familiar with the matter said earlier this month.
Furthermore, the company in January, announced that it raised $1.5 billion from investors led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., setting a $50 billion valuation on the entire company. Facebook may have reached $2 billion in sales last year, three people familiar with the matter said in December.
Facebook, founded in 2004, outshined Google Inc. last year to become the most frequented website in the U.S., according to Experian Hitwise, an Internet-tracking firm in New York.