What is Facebook Deals
The Pros and Cons of Facebook Deals
Facebook Deals launched in five cities -- Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, San Francisco, and San Diego -- on April 26, a move to compete with sites like Groupon by bringing the sales right to its members. So far, the offers are activity-based things you can do with friends, like seeing a comedy show and wine tasting, because being friendly is what Facebook's all about. Some of the merchants and sites the new discount service draws from are Opentable, ReachLocal, and PopSugar City. You can "Like" the deal or click "Buy" to get it immediately. Reviews of Facebook Deals are scarce, but some probable pros and cons have emerged.
Wired.com lists one pro of the new discount service as the fact that users don't have to leave the Facebook platform to purchase deals, meaning they can roll their social networking and bargain hunting into one. Plus, you actually have many friends on Facebook, so the assumption is that you'll want to tell them about the decent deals you see. This same concept appears on multiple daily deals and coupon sites, but the loyalty might be a little less solid because those users don't really know each other.
Another positive is that the deals in Facebook's new discount service are presented with large pictures and minimal text for only two categories: arts and entertainment, and events and activities. That makes it a little easier to navigate, as well as being easier on the eyes than some of the cluttered daily deals sites we've seen.
A blogger who reviewed the service explains that clicking on the deal takes you to an expanded description, which shows aggregated reviews of the business from sites like Yelp -- there are also comments from FB users farther down -- and a "What You Should Know" section, which includes things like the deal expiration date. So you get all the information in one spot, a difference from some other cheap daily discounts. The gifting option with Facebook Deals is also helpful if you want to buy something for a friend or family member who lives in your city.
There are inherent disadvantages to Facebook Deals, though this may change as the new discount service grows. First, the deals are mostly from local small businesses, not big companies. This means you can only redeem them in one place. Another issue is that the cheap daily discounts are just activities for the most part, not sales on food or household needs, which is what a lot of people look for on coupon sites.
Also, there is a group-buying component missing from the service thus far. Customers don't get perks for adding to the number of people who bought the deal, although this may change in time. Users are also not rewarded for getting friends to buy deals.
A commenter on the Wired article about Facebook Daily Deals brings up a another con: who wants these deals clogging up their news feed? If enough of your friends start using the service, you're going to click the "Hide" button at rapid speed.
Have you tried Facebook Deals yet? What do you think?
