Daily deals giant Groupon is purportedly in talks to partner with location sharing service Foursquare, reports All Things Digital. If approved, the partnership would likely result in more precisely targeted deal suggestions, based upon where users of check in.
The move would help Groupon expand away from email lists as their primary way of communicating deals with users. Yes, Groupon does have its own app for iOS, Android and BlackBerry, and can be accessed via the mobile web, but these outlets remain relatively lightly traveled compared to the email route.
A deal with Foursquare isn’t the only of its kind, however. Just last week, Foursquare competitor Loopt announced. Like the rumored Foursquare deal, that partnership is an expansion of company’s new Groupon Now service, which delivers real-time offers to its users. For the time being, however, Groupon Now is only available for users in Chicago. It is not yet known how soon the Loopt deal will expand to other locations, if at all.
The Foursquare deal currently remains in the “still unconfirmed” category. But a variety of reported details point to an imminent partnership. According to All Things D‘s sources, Groupon CEO Andrew Mason has visited Foursquare’s New York offices multiple times. And a statement release by Groupon spokeswoman Julie Mossler has a certain wink-wink feel to it.
“We see a lot of potential for Groupon Now! to be showcased via services like Loopt,” Mossler told All Things D. “No bigger picture to announce yet, but stay tuned for additional collaborations.”
Foursquare currently has about 9 million users, compared to Loopt’s user base of five million, so neither service would provide access to a particularly massive number of people. That said, we can certainly see the benefit of finding out that a particular nearby restaurant has a good deal on lunch.
