By Luanne Teoh on 07-10-2011

Living Social will be offering Instant Deals in San Francisco starting July 13th. To get access to the deals being offered, San Francisco consumers need to download the iPhone or Android app. The deals last for less than 24 hours and are then promoted on the apps to consumers within a half-mile radius.

Instant Deals was introduced in March and rival Groupon responded with Groupon Now in May. Living Social is based out of Washington DC and Groupon is based out of Chicago. Both companies recently entered the New York market simultaneously offering daily deals. The introduction of instant deals through mobile phones  is brilliant in helping businesses like restaurants get a boost during slow times throughout the day. It also presents consumers with deals and choices they may not know about through location based information.

To generate local buzz, Living Social will be offering $1 deals from San Francisco restaurants like the San Francisco Soup Company, Bistro Burger, Yoppi Yogurt, Escape From New York Pizza and Kyoto Sushi. Living Social Instant Deals did the same when it launched in Washington DC in April. So far, there has been no indication when Groupon plans to follow suit by launching Groupon Now in San Francisco as well.

This 3 way win-win-win scenario seems to be riding a huge successful wave across the country with Facebook and Google trying to get a piece of the group buying pie as well.

About Luanne Teoh

Luanne is a senior correspondent for BizTechDay focused on Small Business Tech, Mobile and China based in San Francisco. In the last 17 years, she has helped launch start-ups and turned around failing operations. Her international work experience include both public and private corporations in Southeast Asia, Australia and North America. She has previously worked for Oracle Corporation, SonyBMG Music, Universal Music, Catcha Media and SOH Inc. Apart from a keen interest in technology, Luanne is also and avid explorer of the globe, cultures and people.

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