UPDATED 15:31 EDT / AUGUST 01 2011

Google Acquires The Dealmap as Talent Buys Forge Ahead

The daily deals market is becoming a crowded one, with several services cropping up in an effort to gain the success Groupon and LivingSocial have seen.  Google’s the latest to make a development in this arena, acquiring The Dealmap, a daily deals service launched in early 2010.  It’s an aggregator, pooling daily deal offers from a myriad of sites and services.  With two million users, an iPhone and Android app, The Dealmap has certainly found its niche in the services sector.

“Google provides the ideal platform to help us accelerate our growth and fulfill our mission,” The Dealmap said on its blog. “Joining Google will help us innovate in new and unexplored areas of commerce.”

Daily deals is a booming market, with Groupon launching a successful IPO this year, and LivingSocial following closely behind.  It has a potential of billions as far as revenue generation goes, and is proving to be the “next big thing” in social, commerce, local marketing and retail.  Google has a few reasons for wanting to incorporate The Dealmap into its own initiatives, especially now that it’s pouring so much into its own social and mobile efforts.  Google Shopper, for instance, has recently incorporated Offers into its Android app, combining discounts and deals with local search.

In fact, Google’s made a few talent and technology buys since launching Google+, the social end of its search products.  There’s a concerted effort to bring together several of its Apps across the user experience, seeking ways to leverage one against the other.  There’s no telling exactly how The Dealmap will be integrated  into Google’s existing platforms, but the popularity of daily deals services and the clearly defined efforts behind Google’s recent updates indicates a well-positioned assault on emerging marketing trends.

Amazon’s also been developing out its mobile retail push, its latest update being the MYHABIT iPhone app launch.  Amazon only recently got into the daily flash sales sector, but it’s rapidly expanding, taking MYHABIT mobile with a new iPhone app.  The new app will offer designer sales for a limited time starting 9:00am PT/12:00 ET, and will remind customers of upcoming designer brands sales events with alerts. We can recall Amazon’s entrance to the flash sales market earlier this year, directly competing with the likes of Gilt and Ideeli.

“With MYHABIT for iPhone, customers can get their daily fashion fix no matter where they are, and they can browse and buy immediately, before an event sells out,” said Maria Renz, president of MYHABIT.

“Our mobile customers will discover the same elegant and easy-to-use fashion destination that MYHABIT.com customers experience, including 360-degree video footage of clothing on models, lavish photography, and free shipping and free returns on U.S. orders for a compelling, on-the-go private sale experience.”

Like the website, the MYHABIT iPhone app will enable customers to view product pages, videos and images, as well as get a preview of the week’s calendar of events.  It will bring out daily sales from top brands such as Halston and Vera Wang with up to 60 percent off retail prices. There will be items for women, men and children, spanning the basic categories necessary for launching a useful and competitive flash sale site in today’s rather crowded market.

Shipping within US will be free, with a $15 flat rate for international orders. Should MYHABIT send a wrong or defective item, it will offer gift card credits redeemable at MYHABIT, Amazon and Endless.com.

While MYHABIT takes a decided mobile turn for flash sales, Amazon itself has been building up its mobile marketplace across a few different fronts.  Before launching the MYHABIT app, Amazon rolled out other mobiles apps including Price Check, Window Shop for iPad and Amazon deals . This highlights the growth of mobile commerce for e-retailers such as Amazon and eBay.  Mobile Commerce is expected to reach $31 billion by 2016, says Forrester.  It’s an area of incredible interest for online retailers in particular, as they seek to gain more immediate access to consumers’ wallets through mobile apps.


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