14 DAY TRIAL // Google wants to get into the daily deals space really bad. Granted, it has already done so with Google Offers, but the new product is available in only a few places and comes up against much better positioned competitors.
So Google opened up its wallet a bit and snapped up a company, The Dealmap, that was already making some inroad into the market and one that is a sure fit for Google, and not only because it already relies on Google Maps.
As the name implies, The Dealmap shows deals and offers aggregated from a number of sources on a map to show the user where exactly these offers are around him.
"We’re thrilled to announce that The Dealmap has been acquired by Google," The Dealmap announced on its blog.
"In our first year alone, The Dealmap grew to more than two million users of our web, mobile, social and email products, and more than 85 million monthly visitors to our partner network," the company boasted.
"We believe Google provides the ideal platform to help us accelerate our growth and fulfill our mission," it said.
It's unclear how Google will integrate The Dealmap, whether it will continue to build on it, or just assimilate the team. For now, the site will live on and will continue to function like it does today.
"For the time being, we will continue to support The Dealmap's core products and partner services," the company said.
"As we’re ready to share more about integration and transition plans, we’ll update our partners and consumers on progress and any news," it added.
Google could build a product based on The Dealmap, after all it wouldn't be the first aggregator the company has created. What's more, it could integrate Offers on top of the existing deals to give it an edge. But the company may be squeamish about this with all of the anti-trust issues surrounding it.