Groupon Now App a Counter Play to LivingSocial’s Instant Deals?

If Groupon’s latest, soon to launch app has you experiencing a bit of déjà vu, there’s a logical explanation. Read on to find out why.

Hungry? Bored? Groupon is going to give you an app that will take care of that. The Chicago coupon purveyor plans to launch Groupon Now, an app that can help you find local, time-limited deals exactly when you want them. If you’re looking for a good deal on something to eat, just hit the “I’m Hungry” button or if you want something to do, check out the “I’m Bored” option. The real-time deals app will launch in early April.

According to Dan Frommer on Business Insider:

For merchants, it’s a chance to fill empty tables or bring in customers during historically slow times. For users, obviously, it’s a chance to get more deals, with the added convenience of location and the added urgency of an expiration hour, not just date.

But this sounds very much like the new feature, Instant Deals that LivingSocial is currently test marketing in their home town of Washington, DC. Here’s what we said about that just about a week ago:

LivingSocial Instant Deals provide a platform for merchants to create deals and get traffic through their doors when they most need it, such as during slower business hours or when they have an inventory of specific items they’d like to move. While LivingSocial daily deals are live for 24 hours, Instant Deals will only be available for a much shorter time, for example a restaurant can gain some additional traffic by offering a special that’s available only between the lunch and the dinner crowd.

Amazing coincidence or something more? While LivingSocial trails Groupon as far as industry standings, Groupon has been countering every move that LivingSocial makes. It doesn’t seem likely that Groupon needs to be too concerned that LivingSocial is going to catch up with them any time soon, but it looks like they’re also making sure that LivingSocial gets that message loud and clear.