Small Business Trends: Free Check-In Devices For SMBs From Google?
Lisa Barone questions the wisdom of Google trying to tackle the mobile online-to-online local business promotions market on its own rather than partnering with others already in this space.
“If you thought the check-in craze was getting, well, crazy, Google’s gone ahead and taken it up a notch. TechCrunch reports that Google is planning to distribute millions of custom mobile devices to small business owners to allow customers to check in, rate, and make purchases (via Google Checkin) directly from the device. According to TechCrunch, the bold move comes as Google continues to fight for “[its] piece of the very lucrative local business market for both check-ins and reviews”.
TechCrunch reports:
‘Online to offline commerce is “a trillion dollar opportunity.” Money spent at coffee shops, bars, gyms, restaurants, gas stations, plumbers, dry-cleaners, and hair salons, etc. makes up a very large percentage of overall spending, and online services want a piece of that. Yelp touches this world, as does Foursquare and others. Groupon’s growth can be attributed to the huge untapped potential in local online to offline promotions as well.'”