San Francisco — Back in February, Google embellished Latitude, the search engine giant’s location-sharing mobile app with check-in features, and over the weekend, the company has expanded its Latitude check-in process nationwide for the iPhone and Android devices, giving users the ability to unlock discounts with a handful of launch partners.
The check-in feature that Google unveiled during SXSW, was confined to 60 places only around Austin, Texas, and now they have expanded check-in offers all across the United States that enables people unlock discounts by regularly using location-sharing Latitude applications to check in at a select set of establishments.
“Checking in lets you share the places that you visit and add context to your Latitude location for friends and family,” explains Douglas Gresham, a Software Engineer on the Google Maps for mobile team. “However, you can keep a history of where you have been while gaining status at the places you visit the most. When you gain status at places, they can now reward your loyalty with check-in offers. From discounts to a free snack, check-in offers let places give you an extra reason to keep coming back.”
Interestingly, Google has added a twist to the traditional check-in offer with its “status” method. Similar to Foursquare and Facebook, Latitude now unfurls different offers if a user checks in to locations hosting a Latitude deal, and earn discounts from specific retailers from whom you have earned a certain status. For instance, offers such as 20% off at American Eagle Outfitters can only be unlocked with statuses such as Regular, VIP or Guru.
“At the outset, you can become a “Regular,” “VIP” or “Guru” at places, but we are also authorizing partners create their own status levels for you to achieve. For example, you can become a Champion of Taste at Quiznos or an AE Gold Shopper at American Eagle Outfitters, unlocking their check-in offers at the same time.” They are acquired by checking into a specific place multiple times.
“When you gather status at places, they can now honor your loyalty with check-in offers. From discounts to a free snack, check-in offers let places give you an extra reason to keep coming back,” Google said in a blog post.
“We have associated with some great partners to let you unlock check-in offers at thousands of places across the U.S. using Latitude for Android and iPhone,” Google said.
Furthermore, with last week’s roll-out, Google is initially partnering with American Eagle Outfitters, Quiznos, Arby’s, RadioShack, Finish Line, Famous Footwear, Great Clips, Naturalizer, Tasti D-Lite, Wireless Zone, Cellairis and PostNet. Quiznos is offering customers a free sub when they buy one of equal or greater value (and the title of “Champion of Taste”), while Finish Line is awarding a $10 discount on purchases over $50. Most Latitude deals offer similar discounts.
Google said Macy’s will soon join the lineup, too.
To begin, select the “Check in here” button on a specific location. Also, those who choose to have Latitude constantly update will also be “checked out” of locations when they leave, so friends are not left assuming as to whether they are still there.
More information about the program and companies involved are available online at google.com/latitude/checkin.