Hungry? Bored? Groupon is reportedly retooling its service to cater even more to mobile users' impetuous whims. The company is adding a new app called Groupon Now that will show users time-specific deals based on location, similar to those on Foursquare, Facebook Places, or Google Latitude, Bloomberg reports.
Unlike the classic Groupon service, the new Groupon Now, reportedly scheduled for an April release, seeks near-instant redemption. When users log into the app, they will be faced with two choices: "I'm hungry" and "I'm bored." Clicking on the first button will pull up available food offers that are nearby, according to the user's GPS location, while the latter will suggest activities nearby, like renting a bicycle, seeing a play, or shopping for shoes, at reduced prices.
It also seems designed to help business owners stimulate spending during down times. For example, a business owner could develop an offer that's valid only on Tuesdays if foot traffic tends to be low on that day.
Groupon's first business has been to promote daily discount deals or coupons, such as a $20 voucher at a particular store sold for only $10, or two weeks of yoga classes for $15. Groupon members (free to join) purchase deals through a Web site or mobile app. A minimum number of deals must be sold in order for it to be valid. If it doesn't reach the minimum, the user isn't charged. Most vouchers and deals come with a reasonable expiration date, giving people at least several months to redeem them. Its closest competitor in this regard is LivingSocial, though many start-ups have been flooding the space as of late.
Still missing from the Groupon agenda is more social interactivity. The service does entice users to recruit friends to buy deals, rewarding them with cash in their Groupon accounts when they do, though it doesn't connect friends within the site or mobile app, so there's no way currently to see what deals your friends have bought.
According to Bloomberg, Groupon was valued at $1.4 billion in April 2010; later that year, the company rejected a $6 billion offer from Google and is now reportedly discussing a potential initial public offering that would value it at up to $25 billion.
Groupon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.