Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Google Puts Coupons on Your Phone so You Can Forget the Scissors [Saving Money]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/cuBhB2abFrg/google-puts-coupons-on-your-phone-so-you-can-forget-the-scissors

With their new mobile coupons feature, Google wants to make it easier for you to access coupons on the go when you're too busy to sit down with the paper and clip coupons.

Just in time for the holidays, we've made it easier to find discounts when you're on the go. If a business adds a mobile coupon to its Google Local Business Center listing, you'll be able to access it from your mobile device. Just go to google.com on your phone and search for a local business. When you land on its Place Page, you'll see any coupons or discounts that might be available. Then simply show the participating business the coupon, right from your phone, to redeem the offer.

It's a great idea in theory (though not entirely new), but the main stumbling block is adoption—that is, after a lot of searching, I had a tough time finding many local businesses in my area that had any coupons to begin with. That's because it's all dependent on businesses taking advantage of their Place Page—the result Google provides when it recognizes a local business. Place pages display photos, reviews, and more (like this one). It's possible I'm just having a lot of bad luck in my searches, though, so if you give the new mobile coupons a try and have better luck, share it with us in the comm! ents.