#FacebookDeals: Taking on the online coupon market
(CBS / What's Trending) Move over Groupon, and step aside Living Social. Facebook wants to become your next social buying destination.
Facebook officially started offering Facebook Deals -- yet another online social buying initiative that will take more cash out of your pocket for things you want to do, but will never get around to doing -- in limited markets. Unlike Groupon and the other counterparts, Facebook is focusing on the social experience. That means instead of just getting a coupon for $50 off a $100 certificate to your local restaurant, you might get exclusive one-of-a-kind experiences like backstage passes to a concert or a private dinner for you and your five friends. Also, if your friends take advantage of the same deal, you may get some of the cash you spent back. "We're building a product that is social from the ground up," director of local for Facebook said to AP. "All of these deals are things you want to do with friends, so no teeth whitening, but yes to river rafting." The deals are still going to revolve around local businesses, so you'll get to experience the best your city has to offer. The initiative is testing the waters in San Diego, San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas and Austin, Texas, but other cities are expected to follow soon. Facebook has partnered with Gilt City, Home Run, OpenTable, Pop Sugar City, Tippr, KGB Deals, Plum District, Reach Local and Zozi, and will showcase some of their offers, as well as original experiences brokered by the Facebook sales team. With Groupon losing revenue, this could be Facebook's chance to break through in this arena. One possible way for established businesses to beat the social media giant, however, might be through way of another popular social media network: Foursquare. Business Insider hypothesizes that a partnership with the check-in based network might prove fruitful for social buying businesses, especially since Facebook will have the power of Facebook Places to use to its advantage.