Following in the footsteps of Google — which followed in the footsteps of Groupon after the daily-deal site snubbed an acquisition bid — Microsoft is getting into the online coupon game. Its Bing search platform is luring bargain hunters, deal lovers, Groupon groupies, and Living Social fanatics with a unique twist that aggregates local deals.
Microsoft officially launched Bing deals for the desktop and mobile, giving decision-makers access to more than 200,000 unique offers in more than 14,000 cities and towns across the U.S.
Rather than roll out its own service to go head-to-head with the daily-deal behemoths, Bing is partnering with Dealmap, which tracks local deals. Through this alliance, Bing searchers can tap into offers from Groupon, Living Social, and Restaurant.com, among many others.
Decluttering the Web
“Bing’s mission is to help you cut through the clutter of the web to make decisions more quickly — whether that’s through our own innovations or by teaming up with industry experts,” said Andy Chu, director of product management at Bing for Mobile.
Two hundred thousand offers may sound overwhelming, but Microsoft has worked to streamline the process of finding the right deal in the right place at the right time. For example, iPhone and Android mobile users will see “deals” on the Bing home page and can click on the link to access them.
“With one click, you’ll see the top daily deals featuring the very best offers in your metro area,” Chu promised. “And by top deals we’re talking generally 30 percent to 50 percent off! These are deals you definitely don’t want to miss, so we made a special tab so checking is easy.”
A Mobile Advantage
Bing offers a “nearby” link that highlights deals within a few blocks of the user’s current location. Users can also browse deals by category or keyword to narrow down…