Google will launch mobile check-in deals next week

MOBILE SOFTWARE OUTFIT Google has confirmed that it will launch a mobile check-in deals feature in its social network Google+ next week, intensifying its rivalry with Facebook and Foursquare.

The company is testing the new feature, which allows companies to offer discounts to consumers who use their mobile to check-in on Google+. This is designed to entice shops that require people to visit their place of business to participate in the online deals marketplace.

A documentation page that has since been removed briefly revealed that users will be able to publicly share offers that they redeem with people in Circles of their choice, or choose to keep the deal private, an essential element of Google's ambition to be the primary venue for privacy-aware social networkers.

Speculation has mounted that Google would roll out a deals service ever since its attempted buyout of Groupon late last year. Its $6bn offer was rejected, as was its offer to buy Yelp for $500m in 2009. Eventually it succeeded in buying Zagat for $151m in September of this year.

Google has been rolling out new features on a regular basis since the launch of Google+ in July, including Hangout phone calls last week. This latest feature, however, has the added potential of driving more people to Google+, since it works as an advertisement for Google's social network as much as the companies and products themselves.

"While prepping for a test of a new check-in offer feature, we published a support center article a little early and have since removed the article," said a Google spokesperson, according to VentureBeat. "We apologize for any confusion this may have caused. Please stay tuned for roll out of this feature for merchants, which we're targeting for next week."

Update
Sierra Lovelace, a spokesperson for Google told The INQUIRER that people find the offers through Google Maps for Mobile and that they are not actually displayed on Google+, but rather the check-in is displayed there, if the user chooses to share. So that means that you won't find offers on Google+ itself, but the check-in will display a link to a business, so there's still an incentive for companies to use Google's latest deals feature. She declined to reveal a specific date, but confirmed that Google is targeting next week for launch. µ