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Can you see yourself doing some last minute shopping or trying on a new outfit via your TV? One in four shoppers will be making regular purchases from interactive television sets by the year 2014, according to a new study. Smart TVs, sometimes also called “Connected TVs” or Hybrid TVs,” are internet-connected television sets that combine all the entertainment value of your regular television set and all the technology and ease-of-use of your touchscreen computer.

Third wave of ecommerce technology

Daily deal shopping first became familiar to us from our desktop computers. We surfed from daily deal website to daily deal website from our desks, most likely using a hardwired mouse. Next came mobile technology. From laptops to smartphones, the introduction of portable devices brought with it the ability to do almost anything from anywhere on the planet. I could just as easily check my email and confirm plane reservations from my laptop in a coffee shop as I could surf around a daily deal aggregator from my iPhone while waiting in line at the grocery store. What’s next?

According to Conlumino, a retail research agency and consulting firm that tracks consumer behavior, eCommerce and mCommerce are poised to move to your television set. The Conlumino study, funded by eBay, took a look at the habits and trends of UK shoppers. Some of the more interesting findings include:

· ✔One in four UK consumers will be making regular purchases on “smart” TVs by 2014.

·✔ eCommerce has become the norm and shoppers quickly adapt to new technology.

·✔ There are a growing number of smart TV devices joining the market.

·✔ Augmented Reality apps and services, products that bridge the gap between real and virtual worlds, will help consumers try on clothes virtually, sample a daily deal vacation, and more.

"We are entering a period of transformation in the retail sector," says Angus McCarey, UK retail director for eBay. "Consumers are driving this as they demand more choice, more interactivity, specialist knowledge and price transparency."

Power to the consumer

Industry analysts see the possible shift to Smart TVs as an empowering move for consumers. Jan Myron, freelance consumer technology reporter, says that new devices give more power to consumers. “The more devices on the market, the more consumers can perform tasks like price comparison shopping.”

To learn more about Smart TV and get a handle on its possibilities for the future, check out this video.

Google, the king of integrated services online, announced last week that it has begun displaying Google Offers in the Google Maps Android app. Are daily deals moving in a new direction?

The story behind Google Offers

Google Offers is a deal-of-the-day Google-based website that started up in mid-2011 after Google's failed attempt at a Groupon buyout. The original Google Offers debuted in beta form in the Portland, Oregon area in April of 2011, and the first official offer was released June 1, 2011. By July of that same year, Google Offers had extended their reach to the New York and San Francisco Bay areas. Google's daily deal service is currently available in 42 U.S. cities and new locations are being added on a regular basis. Despite being active for nearly one year, Google Offers continues to operate in beta mode and still has a very limited reach.

Google Offers + Google Maps

On May 9, 2012, Google Maps confirmed on Google+ and the Google Commerce blog that Google Maps for Android had finally fully integrated with Google Offers. Consumers who access Google Maps on an Android device will now begin receiving targeted offers for nearby daily deals and coupons when doing a search for local businesses.

"Today we released the latest version of Google Maps for Android. With this version, those of you in the U.S. will be able to find +Google Offers from nearby businesses—everything from restaurants, to salons to city tours —right from your Maps app. We’ve also added indoor walking directions in the U.S. and Japan, and 360-degree interior photos of businesses," said Google.

Are daily deals going mobile?

As the daily deals market matures, competing companies appear to be moving in opposing directions. In March, LivingSocial announced that it would no longer focus on distributing location-based deals via mobile phones after an unsuccessful mobile campaign. Meanwhile AmEx entered the mobile daily deal market just last week with its newest American Express app.

Eric Rosenblum, Google's director of product management for Google Offers, says that Google is committed to offering location-based mobile deals. “This is an area where we will be patient. We are sold on the logic that when you are out and about, that you will be looking for local businesses. … We will continue down this path.”

While each daily deal website goes a different direction, one thing is for certain: the daily deal market is evolving and working to meet consumers no matter where they may be. And that's good news for everyone!

Google Maps for Android is available on Google Play free of charge. To learn more, check out this video.

American Express (AmEx) has officially entered the daily deal market with an updated mobile phone app that shoots local daily deal offers to consumers’ smartphones. The first-of-its-kind app delivers targeted daily deal offers to American Express cardholders on a real-time basis and just may change the way you do your daily deal shopping.

My Offers from AmEx goes live

The American Express app has been out for some time. Through the free app, American Express cardholders have been able to pay their current bill, monitor account activity and use Membership Rewards points on their iPhone or iPad. As of this week, the American Express app has been updated with an all new My Offers program that aims to compete with daily deal giants like Groupon and LivingSocial.

Through the newest My Offers AmEx app, cardholders can now also view local and national daily deals, in addition to managing their American Express account. My Offers is a targeted app, which means that offers are ranked by relevance in relation to a user's specific spending history and current location. If, for example, you've used your AmEx card to pay for coffee and donuts at Dunkin Donuts in the past, you're far more likely to see daily deals featuring Dunkin Donuts than you would be to see a McDonald's deal displayed. The app uses both the "spend graph" (AmEx purchasing history) and current location to beam the most relevant deals to consumers' smartphones.

To date, the majority of AmEx's offers have been focused on national chains and merchants. AmEx new My Offers will change that. “It’s time now to get into helping more of the local merchants and to make sure that we have the tools that work for them,” said Ed Gilligan, vice chairman of American Express.

And despite being seen as in direct competition to the Groupon Now program, Gilligan insists AmEx is blazing its own trail. “It’s less about trying to say can we do a Groupon Now or replicate what someone else is doing,” Gilligan said. “It’s more of a continuation of what we started, which is connect cardmembers to the right merchant. And help both.”

Though previous versions of the AmEx app had been downloaded more than 3 million times, the app itself wasn't something that users fired up often. The original app's functionality was focused on account servicing and paying bills, tasks which are performed with relative infrequency. The updated app, however, gives AmEx cardholders good reason to try the app again. Those tired of non-targeted daily deals for hair removal or spa treatments or other things that don’t interest them will bask in the time and money saving features of AmEx’s updated app.

American Express expects to launch an Android app in the future but hasn't yet announced the app's release date.

Mother’s Day is this Sunday in the United States. Don’t tell me you forgot! No worries, because it turns out that moms around the world just want a few simple things, most of which you can grab last minute with an internet connection and a few bucks.

Internet Exposure put together this infographic that goes out of its way to demonstrate how cool and tech savvy today’s moms are, and just what moms really want on their big day. Among the findings:

· In the last four years, social media usage among moms rose by 591%.

· About one quarter of shoppers will buy mom a gift online.

· Moms most want a spa day, jewelry and flowers.

A spa day? Daily deals websites practically specialize in offering the best spa treatment packages on the planet. Jewelry? What budget conscious shopper has not bought into a jewelry daily deal? And flowers? Are you kidding me? Daily deal websites have the lowest prices on flowers for mom year round. And that’s not all! Your daily deal cup runneth over with ideas for mom. There’s dinner out at her favorite restaurant, a daily deal voucher for a cleaning service that will give her a much needed break, vacation getaways, classes, adventure deals, and so much more.

Sons and daughters, if you’re still struggling with what to get mom this year, look no further than daily deals. Daily deal aggregators can be your one-stop-shop in picking up the perfect gift for the most important lady in your life.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Facebook Offers, the latest push made by Facebook to squeeze themselves into an already overcrowded and competitive daily deals market, has just expanded their reach and may be in your Facebook feed now. What’s it all about and how will Offers impact other daily deal websites? Let’s take a look.

What is it?

Facebook Offers is a do-it-yourself daily deal program for mom and pop businesses. Unlike traditional daily deal sites, which take a cut of profits or charge a fee to list deals, Facebook Offers is 100 percent free, though Facebook has the ability to monetize their website, thus making money on Offers. Small businesses are able to list deals in a DIY interface on Facebook and those deals then show up in their Facebook timeline or as a sponsored story, and deals are also displayed on the Facebook pages of users who have liked their business. It’s a simple strategy, but is it enough to oust the top dogs of daily deals?

Is it a Groupon killer?

Facebook has had a tough go of it trying to cash in on the business of daily deals. Facebook’s first attempt at introducing daily deals to their users, Facebook Deals, failed after only four months. Facebook Offers, which was announced in February, just expanded their reach to include U.S. businesses and consumers. It’s a smart move to quickly widen their reach, but not all daily deal experts think Facebook Offers is going to succeed.

"Local and daily deals in general are very labor intensive, and contrast sharply with Facebook's business model of being engineering-heavy," said Sam Hamadeh, CEO of PrivCo LLC. According to Hamadeh, the solution is not as simple as making Offers free and self-serve.

Brian Riley, senior research director at CEB TowerGroup, says Facebook's model is inefficient and will only reach a small audience. "You can't drop this stuff like they're leaflets from airplanes," said Riley.

Facebook Offers is still in beta and there’s no official word on when Offers will reach everyone with an internet connection or even if it will be received better than Facebook Deals and mature out of beta status. Tom Welch, Houston daily deals shopper says that he’s excited at the prospect of saving even more money with Offers, but he sees Offers catering to a different crowd. “There are so few Offers available that it isn’t worth it to invest too much of my time,” said Welch.

And, for now, that seems to be one of Facebook's Offers biggest problems. One of the first Offers was placed by Tasmanian eco-resort Juon Bush Retreats. The company offered 50 vouchers as its Facebook Offer and while Huon Bush Retreats reached more than three million users in five days, they were also accused of sending spam when the offer showed up in Facebook user's timelines. Clearly, there are a few kinks to be worked out.

Gift giving is one of those beautiful things in life that leaves both the giver and the receiver feeling better for the experience. For the giver, there’s no better feeling than seeing a smile of appreciation on the face of a friend or family member while they accept your token of kindess. And we don’t need to explain how awesome it is to be remembered and treated to a special present. After all, who doesn’t love getting a gift?

Thanks to the internet and daily deal websites, it’s easier than ever to let that someone special know just how you feel, and you can do it in mere seconds. Don’t believe me? Here are four ways daily deals are besting traditional gift giving.

Daily deal shopping is time saving

Giving a traditional gift means running from store to store in search of something that not only will be appreciated, but also something you can afford. It’s not an easy task. And once you’ve found the perfect present, you have to wait in line to checkout, and take the gift home to be wrapped and eventually delivered. Traditional shopping is a time suck!

Marci Lowerbough, Chicago grandmother of four, told us that it’s been tough to get around since she suffered a stroke two years ago, so she was thrilled to discover daily deal shopping. “My days of mall shopping have come to an end,” said Lowerbough, “but I don’t mind. I can shop for the whole family in one afternoon of online daily deal shopping.”

Daily deal shopping is less expensive

Whether you’re heading to the mall or your local big box store in search of a gift, luck plays a big part in what sort of gift ends up in your cart. If you’re minding your budget, price is your top priority while shopping, which means that unless you find an unbelievable, unadvertised sale, you may not get exactly what you went into the store for. Daily deal shopping, on the other hand, routinely saves consumers 30-90% off the retail price of everything.

Daily deal shopping gives you the ultimate in variety

Driving from store to store or walking from mall shop to mall shop is a must when gift giving, especially if you’re shopping for more than one recipient. With daily deal shopping, you surf to one website and are instantly met with hundreds of choices. Daily deals offer something for foodies, fashionistas, adventurers, tech lovers, kids, grandmothers and everyone else on your shopping list.

Daily deals are perfect for last minute shoppers

Who among us hasn’t forgotten the birthday or anniversary of a friend or family member? Last minute shopping in a brick and mortar store is a drag. When the pressure is on, most of us end up spending far more than we should on a gift we’re not quite satisfied with. With daily deals, however, anyone can pop online and pick out a gift in moments. And because gifts can be emailed to recipients, you’ll never miss celebrating another special occasion again.

What benefits do you enjoy with daily deal shopping? Tell us in the comments.

Big news in the daily deal market! Groupon announced this week that the company has sold its 1.5 millionth Groupon Now! deal. The record-setting buy was made at CiCi Nails in Chicago and was for a $30 manicure and spa pedicure, a service normally priced at $42.

Groupon Now! has been around for about a year and it's a geo-location and real-time based daily deal service that's currently available in 31 of Groupon's 175 markets in the United States. Groupon Now! buys are meant to be spur of the moment purchases, and they offer immediate savings at spas, local gyms, restaurants, and retail outlets. Groupon Now! vouchers were designed to attract new merchants who want a stream of active traffic at a particular time of day. Groupon Now! deals appeal to merchants because business owners can turn deals off and on on a day by day basis, controlling their own voucher traffic through a personalized online dashboard.

“We continue to attract new merchants looking for an effective way to bring in a steady stream of customers on the days and times they choose and are now live in 31 of 175 North American Groupon markets with more launching soon. Customers have demonstrated there is a real demand for this service and we remain enthusiastic about the potential for Groupon Now! to help merchants reach new customers and grow their businesses.” - Dan Roarty, VP of Groupon Now!

This milestone is significant because it took the original Groupon website some 15 months to reach the same amount of sales. Congratulations Groupon Now!!