Google July 12 said it is rolling out its Google Offers local deals beta service in New York City and San Francisco following a successful launch in Portland.
Google Offers, the search engine’s Groupon clone, offers local discounts for goods and services via e-mail alerts. The service will be paired with the Google Wallet mobile payment service when it launches in New York and San Francisco this summer.
Subscribers in the Big Apple and Bay Area may sign up to receive email Offers in two ways: at the Google Offers Website here or via Google’s Shopper 2.0 for Android application. Once a user has purchased or saved an offer, it will appear in both the Shopper application and when the user navigates to the Google Offers Web page.
Shopper 2.0 for Android users will be able to buy, view and redeem a Google Offer through three tabs. The Today’s Offer tab-the hook into the Google Offers beta program-displays a single offer for discounted goods or services in a user’s city or county.
The Nearby Offers tab surfaces offers in “Eat” and “Play” categories nearby businesses have submitted through Google Places. Finally, My Offers is a place where users may “store” offers for later. Eventually, My Offers users will be able to access and redeem saved offers using Google Wallet.
Google Shopper 2.0 is available now in the Android Market for Android 2.1 and higher devices in the U.S. and U.K.
New York Dog Spa & Hotel, Pommes Frites, Tonnies Minis cupcakes and Ayza Wine and Chocolate Bar have offers in the Big Apple. Bob’s Donut & Pastry Shop, Le Bateau Ivre Restaurant, Yoshi’s Jazz Club and Toy Boat Dessert Cafe in the San Francisco Bay Area are kicking in deals, too.
After challenging Groupon and LivingSocial in New York and San Francisco, Google said it would take Offers to Austin, Boston, Denver, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
The real propulsion system for Offers should be Google Wallet, an application platform that relies on NFC (near field communication) to let Android smartphone owners purchase goods via their phones by tapping and paying at special checkout terminals.
Ideally, Google hopes users will snag Google Offers from their phones and redeem them at stores all over the world. Following this local and mobile business strategy, the search giant just acquired Punchd to gain access to its loyalty card technology and talent.