We can’t help but have a soft spot for Portland here at ReadWriteWeb, as several of our writers live there. And it appears that Google shares our belief that the Rose City is a good place to start a trial of a new service, as the company is launching a beta trial of Google Offers there, beginning today.
“There’s no end to the city’s great restaurants, coffee shops, hot spots and places to explore,” says Google, and now Portland residents will be able to take advantage of discounted deals through Google’s new program.
Google Offers is clearly the company’s Groupon competitor. As the old adage goes, I guess, if you can’t acquire them for $6 billion, create your own version.
The first deal available today is for Floyd’s Coffee – $3 for $10 worth of drinks and pastries.
Of course, these sorts of daily deals and discount offerings are becoming a dime a dozen, but one of the biggest selling points of Google Offers is that it will integrate with Google Wallet, the new mobile payments system the company unveiled last week. Instead of bringing a coupon into a business, consumers will just have to bring their (Android, NFC-capable) phones.
Onstage at the D9 Conference last night, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt indicated that Google Offers was the business plan for Google Wallet and the way in which the company planned to monetize its new payments system.
Following its launch in Portland today, Google Offers will expand to New York and San Francisco later this summer, but there is no word on when it will arrive in other cities.
