With Amazon customers already happy to receive advertising on their slightly-subsidised Kindle e-readers, the Internet retailer is set to introduce its own AmazonLocal Daily Deals service to the device, allowing users to receive special offers simply by looking at their Kindle screensaver.
Amazon launched its own Groupon competitor in June, an online marketplace, powered by LivingSocial and other selected partners, that allows its customers to buy vouchers or deals that can be redeemed against goods or services from local businesses in a customer’s local area.
The AmazonLocal website initially offered deals in Boise, Idaho but has opened to include Alabama, California, Florida and many other states. Amazon will initially deliver deals to Kindle with Special Offers devices in New York City, expanding to all other cities later this year.
To start with Amazon will offer the following deals:
Upcoming AmazonLocal deals for New York City Kindle customers in Downtown, Midtown, Uptown (including the Upper East Side and Upper West Side) and Brooklyn include:
- $7 for a one-hour bike rental in Central Park ($15 value)
- $5 for $10 at Dangerfield’s Comedy club
- $59 for one month unlimited yoga classes at Bikram Yoga Grand Central ($180 value)
- $5 for $10 worth of ice cream and ice cream cakes at Coldstone Creamery
Deals an be purchased directly from a user’s Kindle, without having to enter their account or credit card information. Once purchased, a vouchers will be delivered to the user’s Kindle screen. All the user needs to do then is show their Kindle to the merchant with with the offer is running or buy brining a printed copy.
It’s a great idea by Amazon to further push its deals to a wider audience, one that could be mirrored on its tablet devices should it confirm rumours and launch a 7-inch Android tablet in the coming weeks.
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