Google made good on their promise that they'll turn our phones into wallets by rolling out Google Offers in Portland last month. Now, with more details on how their vision will pan out, it looks like Google has a winner. Unless they lose focus.
Google has put themselves in a position where their multitude of platforms, especially Gmail and Android, their search powers, and the way Offers is designed to benefit both merchants and consumers give them a major advantage over the likes of Groupon and Living Social. We're talking: Better payment terms for deal providers; Better returns on vouchers; And better distribution through ads and Google's already immense portfolio of products and services. Groupon, already a powerhouse valued at $3 billion, would have a hard time competing against them.
That is if Google gets it right. Google has a nasty habit of unveiling new services—service they purport will change the world and the way we connect to it—and not delivering, either for lack of direction or lack of a real commitment to making it work. Google TV has suffered for it, though they're turning that around. Many other have been shut down. For this to be a success, Google needs to sit down and truly consider the scope of this undertaking. If they can do that, then it could turn into something incredible. [Business Insider]
