If you’re routinely putting up with unwanted daily deal emails in your inbox from websites you’ve long ago forgotten about, there’s a new service that will help you quickly and cleanly cut the cord. Read on to learn how to do away with unwanted emails once and for all.

Email overload

When daily deal websites first hit the Internet a few years ago, most people could not get enough daily deal news. Users subscribed to any and every daily deal website online, often also signing up for daily deal newsletters by default. Fast forward a few months and the online daily deal shoppers were said to be suffering from daily deal fatigue. In other words, shoppers were being bombarded with email after email from websites they’d long since left behind.

These days, many shoppers have moved away from traditional daily deal shopping and are now perusing the best of the best deals with daily deal aggregators. Even if you’re one of those who have moved on, you probably know from experience that that doesn’t mean those email subscriptions you signed up for eons ago are going to magically disappear. Sure, you can spend all day in your inbox and manually unsubscribe from every daily deal newsletter, but who has time for that?

UnsubscribeDeals.com

A new service called UnsubscribeDeals.com simplifies the process of unsubscribing from multiple daily deal emails and newsletters by doing the heavy lifting for you. The free web application connects with your Gmail account, and then gives you the option to unsubscribe automatically from the following daily deal websites:

• Living Social
• Groupon
• Woot!
• DailyCandy
• Lifebooker
• Google Offers
• Amazon Local
• Yipit
• Bloomspot
• Gilt City
• KGB Deals
• Ever Save

The UnsuscribeDeals.com service is 100% free and requires no additional action on your part.

Daily deal vouchers help us to stretch our dollars, making our money go further, and that’s a good thing. In the Internet shopping age, though, where spending money is as simple as clicking a button, it’s easy to cross the line from smart shopper to thrill seeking, out of control consumer. Exercising self-control is necessary, of course, but it doesn’t always work. Let’s face it, sometimes it’s just too hard to pass up a good buy.

We spoke this week to financial experts, professional shoppers and daily deal regulars to learn how they police themselves. Here’s what they had to say.

Budget first, shop second

Gary Morris owned a realtor business in Chicago and retired at the age of 35. How’d he do it? “I always knew how much money I had, how much I wanted to save that month and where to get the most for my money,” claimed Morris. “If you don’t know what’s in your wallet, it’s easy to spend more than you really have.”

Does Morris recommend daily deal shopping? “Absolutely,” he says. “Part of being able to save money is knowing where and how to get the most out of it. “

Treat daily deal websites like actual stores

You go to the grocery store for food, the pharmacy for medication and to your mechanic to get your car oil changed. Likewise, says Minneapolis-based professional shopper Ken Howard, you should turn to daily deal websites for specific bargains too.

“Daily deal websites are the only places I shop these days for cheap vacation packages, gym memberships and local restaurant deals for my clients,” boasted Howard. “Target gives me a good deal on toiletries and daily deals give me the most for my money on trips to Cancun. It’s just common sense.”

Limit your shopping time with daily deal aggregators

Clara Hargrove has been a daily deal shopper for three years. The Miami resident thinks that maximizing your time also means maximizing your dollar.

“I started using daily deal aggregators this year because they show me all the best deals in one place,” says Hargrove. “I used to spend hours shopping online and I can see now that was a waste of time. I do all my bargain hunting in about five minutes a day now.”

Keep a running list of needs

Chicago financial advisor Keven Smith says that watching your bottom line is all about filling your needs and putting your wants on hold. “You go to the grocery store armed with a list, don’t you?” asked Smith. “When you don’t, you spend extravagantly. To keep yourself in check when online shopping you also should keep a current list of needs and put every other good buy you see on a wants list. You address the wants only after you’ve met your savings goals.”

Occasional spending splurges happen and most of the time such goofs don’t really have a long term impact on your budget. Making a habit of overspending, though, can turn even daily deal shopping into problematic behavior.

The popularity of daily deals continues to rise. Russia’s daily deal market is at the peak of popularity, one in six U.S. shoppers buys a daily deal voucher and the Canadian daily deal market has been boasting growth for over one year. While daily deals are still relatively new in the United Kingdom, it’s estimated that 65% of residents in the U.K. buy into daily deals on a regular basis.

Ready for some more good news? The Global Daily Deal Association (GDDA) has just finished first quarter research and come up with an infographic that illustrates the size of the U.K. daily deal industry.

Stavros Prodromou, the director of the GDDA, had this to say: “The daily deal industry may be relatively new, but it has proved to be hugely lucrative for those businesses that get it right. Our challenge now is to make it sustainable, and we can do that by ensuring the model works for both consumers and merchants.”

The new GDDA research shows that in the first quarter of this year, the U.K.'s top deal sites sold a total of 3.8 million vouchers and coupons and took in approximately $288 million. Consumers are also estimated to have saved $131 million by actively shopping daily deals.

Times are tough. Just ask Eleanor Beasley, a retired Chicago school teacher who lost everything she owned in a fire and has had to use her retirement to start from scratch again. “I’m 76 years old,” says Beasley, “and I’m still working part-time tutoring children because I have to.”

Beasley also relies on good deals to get by. “Daily deals for food and travel have made it possible for me to put food on the table and visit my children and grandchildren,” Beasley told us. “If it weren’t for that, I don’t know how I could make it all work.”

And Ms. Beasley isn’t alone. A growing number of our nation’s most valuable members, senior citizens, are turning to daily deal vouchers to make ends meet. What are they investing in?

Food

When Richard Smith retired from a Michigan factory job at the age of 67, he thought he was set to enjoy a few years of the good life. “When I retired, my wife and I bought a little condo by the beach and were ready to relax and live out the American Dream.”

For the Smith family, that dream turned into a nightmare the day Mrs. Smith was diagnosed with breast cancer. “It took a cancer diagnosis to wipe out our savings,” said Smith. “A neighbor told us about buying daily deal vouchers and, thanks to those and senior citizen discounts, we’re buying groceries at a discount and even going out to eat a few times a year.”

Health

“A daily deal voucher saved my life,” claims Edwin Baldwin, retired school principal in San Francisco. “I tell everyone this story and they can’t believe it.”

Baldwin, who lives alone in an assisted living apartment, began experiencing mild abdominal pains in July of last year. Baldwin’s children, distraught over their father’s condition and refusal to go to the doctor, bought him a daily deal voucher for a reduced fee x-ray. “That x-ray confirmed colon cancer,” says Baldwin. “I had surgery and today I’m 100% healthy. Now I buy daily deals for visits to the dentist and doctor myself.”

Travel

“I love to visit the grandchildren,” says 82 year old Salt Lake City resident Bessie Arnold, “but my eyesight isn’t what it used to be.” Instead of driving the 500 miles to her daughter’s home, Arnold takes a bus or a plane, and does so with a daily deal voucher. “I didn’t even have a computer when I heard about daily deals,” boasts Arnold. “After buying the first few bus tickets on a local daily deal website from a library computer, I had to get a computer so I wouldn’t miss any of the good deals to come.”

This is just a small sampling of how senior citizens are using daily deals to get more from their money. While daily deal vouchers were originally marketed as luxury goods (cruises, spa treatments, salon visits, etc.), it’s clear to see that many are using vouchers to better their circumstances.

We love feedback! Here at MyDealBoard.com, we value your thoughts and opinions, and we want to connect with you. Whether you’re a daily deal fanatic or a frugal-minded sometimes daily deal buyer, we want to hear from you. Please feel free to get in touch and tell us how we’re doing.

· What can we do to make your daily deal shopping easier?

· What sort of daily deal buys do you want to see more of?

· How can we improve your MyDealBoard.com experience?

· What elements of daily deal shopping are frustrating or confusing?

· What topics would you like us to cover on our blog?

· Are daily deal aggregators making your life easier?

· How can we do better?

You’ll find MyDealBoard.com on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. You can also email. Can’t wait to hear from you!

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.