Facebook Deals has launched and so have the campaigns run by large companies testing the waters. Take for instance, Gap, they are running a campaign where you can pick up a free pair of jeans to the first 10,000 people who check in via Deals to one of their stores. Then for the rest their fans that miss out, they are giving them a 40% off discount. Anecdotal evidence suggests this campaign did quite well with creating foot-traffic to their stores. They had 50 people lined up outside the SFO store before the store even opened. See More ...
As location based services such as Foursquare and Gowalla have still not hit the mass market, Facebook Deals combined with Places, will be a big blow to these services making progress. Consumers can now simply skip signing up and using a new location service and jump straight to Facebook, where consumers are used to interacting with each other.
The gaming component on Foursquare and Gowalla is not carried over to the Facebook service but at the end of the day I think that is a non-issue as consumers are really just after the 'free stuff'. Facebook Deals also features a group discount function, where you and can purchase discounted products if you purchase as a group. This is a significant blow to the group buying sites we are seeing sprout up so quickly. Group buying has been around for a while but it is only just picking up now in Australia. With companies being able to offer their customers group discounts on Facebook without having to pay a fee to Facebook, why would companies even bother selling through these group buying sites now?
So Facebook Deals, combined with Facebook Places, knocks out the location based services and the group buying sites. For companies who already have a significant following on Facebook, why would you spread your efforts thin trying to build up a customer base on Foursquare or Gowalla, as well as the group buying sites, when you can concentrate your efforts and maximise your return from Facebook. Group buying sites may be good for acquiring new customers but you need to make sure you get that customer into your relationship management process or they'll be in for their discount, out the door and gone until the next freebie comes around.
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