Facebook takes on Groupon with new online deals feature

Facebook Deals: it's not the same as Facebook Deals
Facebook Deals: it's not the same as Facebook Deals

Facebook is rolling out a brand new Deals feature through which users can enjoy bargain offers from local businesses via the online Facebook site.

Initially rolling out in five US cities, the feature differs from the existing Facebook Deals feature, although we can see why you'd get confused what with them having the same name and all.

The Deals feature which was launched in the UK in January 2011 makes use of Facebook Places to offer location-based deals to mobile Facebook users but the new Facebook Deals is more in line with sites like Groupon and Wahanda, in that online offers are targeted to your local area.

Delicious discounts

Things like restaurants, sporting events and cinema tickets will be offered at a discounted rate, and users can then redeem them at the venue at a later date.

Deals will be offered by email as well as in Facebook news feeds and, of course, come with buttons making them easily shareable with all your Facebook friends.

Although you'll be able to buy deals using a credit card, it's also another way for Facebook to put its internal currency, 'Facebook Credits', to good use, although the company refuses to say how much revenue it will take from each deal.

The first five cities to get the deals are San Francisco, Austin, Dallas, Atlanta and San Diego; who knows when and what areas of the UK will follow suit.

News Editor (UK)

Former UK News Editor for TechRadar, it was a perpetual challenge among the TechRadar staff to send Kate (Twitter, Google+) a link to something interesting on the internet that she hasn't already seen. As TechRadar's News Editor (UK), she was constantly on the hunt for top news and intriguing stories to feed your gadget lust. Kate now enjoys life as a renowned music critic – her words can be found in the i Paper, Guardian, GQ, Metro, Evening Standard and Time Out, and she's also the author of 'Amy Winehouse', a biography of the soul star.