Foursquare to offer deals from LivingSocial, YP.com, others

Foursquare is looking to become more than just an app for a quick "check-in" at a favorite restaurant or for browsing to see where friends have been lately, and it's doing that by becoming a portal for daily-deals services LivingSocial and YP.com's Deal of the Day.

The New York start-up -- which recently raised $50 million, passed 10 million registered users and inked a deal with American Express -- is expanding its "specials" feature to include "deals."

Foursquare specials allow businesses to give discounts or free items that are usually tied to a user's activity in the app. For example, the "mayor" of a location -- the person who checks in the most --  might get a free drink at a pizza parlor.

The addition of deals will enable users to get "deep discounts that you buy ahead of time," Foursquare said in a blog post announcing its partnerships in the new feature.

LivingSocial, a daily-deals website that may be preparing to file a $1-billion IPO soon, will offer group-buying discounts through Foursquare, as will BuyWithMe and the AT&T-owned YP.com Deal of the Day service, "with 50% off their daily deals" in Atlanta, Los Angeles and the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, Foursquare said.

Gilt City will offer "exclusive menus and tickets to sold-out shows," and Zozi will offer "unique experiences and activities like moonlight kayaking, cycling and wine tasting, and shark diving," Foursquare said. Users will start seeing the deals show up this week.

What deals a Foursquare user is offered in-app will depend on where a user checks in and what friends on the service are doing too.

If users find a discounted item they want to buy, they'll be able to do so from within the Foursquare app or while surfing Foursquare.com using a credit card.

For now, the deals are available only in Foursquare's BlackBerry, Android and iOS apps in the U.S., Britain, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. But more deals and countries will be added soon, Foursquare said.

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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

twitter.com/nateog

Image: Simulated screen shots of deals offered within the Foursquare app. Credit: Foursquare

LivingSocial reportedly preparing for $1-billion IPO

LivingSocial is reportedly preparing to file for an initial public offering of stock that could seek to raise about $1 billion for the daily deals website.

The Washington, D.C., company has selected Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase & Co. as its three underwriters for the IPO and have the valuation of the company set somewhere between $10 billion and $15 billion, according to CNBC, which first reported on the plans.

Andrew Weinstein, LivingSocial's head of communications, said "we don't comment on rumors or speculation" when asked about the validity of the reports.

The Wall Street Journal and New York Times said they've verified the CNBC story through unnamed sources.

Groupon, which also offers local deals online tied to specific cities, filed for an IPO of its own in June that is looking to raise $750 million. Groupon has said it operates in 175 North American markets and 43 countries and has about 83.1 million subscribers.

LivingSocial has said previously that its user base is made up of about 10 million subscribers in more than 120 markets and five countries.

In December, Amazon.com, the Web's largest retailer, invested $175 million in LivingSocial alongside an $8-million investment from Lightspeed Venture Partners of Menlo Park, Calif.

LivingSocial has yet to file an S-1 form, which would declare and detail its IPO plans, with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

twitter.com/nateog

Image: A screenshot of LivingSocial's website displays discounts for Los Angeles. Credit: LivingSocial

T-Mobile launches More for Me daily-deal app for Android

T-Mobile USA is getting into the daily-deals game with the launch of its new Android app, More for Me.

The app landed in Google's Android Market on Wednesday and is available to any Android user, whether on a phone or tablet and whether the user is a T-Mobile customer or not.

But More for Me won't be a competitor to all daily-deals sites and apps, instead it will aggregate daily deals offered by others depending on the location of the user, from discount services such as LivingSocial, Goldstar and Tippr.

T-Mobile will also offer occasional deals through the app that are only available to its wireless customers as well, said David Henderson, a spokesman for the carrier.

Users will be able to use the location tracking features on their Android devices to find nearby deals, but they can also browse deals in almost any city or chose to view only deals tailored to their interests, Henderson said.

One feature that won't be available in More for Me immediately but will be coming soon is carrier billing, which would allow users to buy a deal and pay for it on their T-Mobile bill, he said. In the meantime, traditional credit card transactions through the app will have to do.

Users can filter what deals they see by ZIP code, as well as through categories such as clothing, concerts, cooking classes, upscale meals, health and beauty and outdoor activities, Henderson said.

Deals spotted by a user can also be shared with friends via Facebook, email or text message from within the app as well, he said.

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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Twitter.com/nateog

Image: T-Mobile's More For Me app on an Android smartphone. Credit: T-Mobile USA

Facebook testing new Groupon-style daily deals service

Facebook plans to test a Groupon-style service as part of its existing Deals service, which lets businesses pitch offers to users of the popular social networking service.

Facebook will launch the new daily deal in San Francisco, San Diego, Atlanta, Dallas and Austin, Texas.

With more than 600 million users, Facebook certainly has the critical mass and the social mojo to tap into the booming online deal market and compete with market leaders Groupon and LivingSocial. Facebook will showcase deals and encourage users to share those deals with friends.

U.S. consumer spending  on daily deal sites is on track to hit $3.9 billion in 2015 from $873 million in 2010, according to research firm BIA/Kelsey.

"Local businesses will be able to sign up to use this feature soon, and people will be able to find Deals in the coming weeks," Facebook said in the statement.

Facebook will sell deals through its own sales team and will work with partners including ReachLocal, Gilt City and OpenTable.

Analyst Greg Sterling has some thoughts here.

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LivingSocial scores $175-million investment from Amazon.com

Groupon’s potential deal with Google ended up being a boon for LivingSocial, a social commerce company that competes with Groupon in the local daily deals space.

The Washington company secured a $175-million investment from Amazon.com Inc., and an additional $8-million investment from Lightspeed Venture Partners.

After news broke that Google offered $6 billion in cash and earnouts to buy Groupon, LivingSocial looked like the belle of the ball within the daily-deal industry.

The daily-deal sites have turned into a social media phenomenon. The companies send daily e-mails to its subscribers offering 50% to 90% discounts on products and services such as spa treatments, fitness classes and restaurant food.

Seeing the trend, Amazon has invested hundreds of millions in the deals industry. In June it bought Woot, which offers a deal a day, for $110 million.

LivingSocial has 10 million subscribers in more than 120 markets and five countries, and it’s booking an average of $1 million-plus a day.

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Image: Screenshot of LivingSocial.com

Amazon.com looks to counter Google's Groupon deal with investment in LivingSocial

Groupon getting it on with Google (Groupoogle?) is turning out to be a sizzling deal for one of its top rivals.

LivingSocial, the Washington, D.C., social commerce company that competes with Groupon in the local deals space, is in talks to take a major strategic investment from Amazon.com that would give it a valuation of several billion dollars, reports All Things D's Kara Swisher. (Venture Beat's Owen Thomas was the first to report on investment rumors.)

Interest in LivingSocial is soaring with Google offering $6 billion in cash and earnouts to buy Groupon. LivingSocial has 10 million subscribers in more than 120 markets and five countries, and it’s booking an average of $1 million plus a day.

Amazon.com does not have much of a toehold in daily deals. In June, it bought Woot, which offers a deal a day, for $110 million. Best part of that deal: The blog post from Woot.com Chief Executive Matt Rutledge.

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