Groupon's expansion, which started Wednesday, builds upon the May 20 debut of Groupon Now in Chicago, Groupon's hometown. Groupon Now also launched in San Francisco on Wednesday.
LivingSocial, meanwhile, plans to introduce its Instant Deals platform in New York on June 8. New York will be Instant Deals' second market after Washington, D.C., LivingSocial's hometown. LivingSocial plans to offer $1 lunch deals to kick off the service, a strategy it used in Washingon, D.C. in April. The new offerings from both broadcast short-term deals (lasting a few hours or all day) to users' mobile phones when they're nearby.
In New York, Groupon will offer deals with Artichoke Basille's Pizza and Brewery, Infinity Shoes and Butter Lane Cupcakes. In San Francisco, Groupon's partners include Gaspare's Pizza House & Italian Restaurant, Georgiou Studio and Frankie’s Bohemian Cafe. LivingSocial has not named its partnering vendors.
Groupon and Living Social first revealed their local daily deals platforms in March. The two face competing entries from Facebook and AT&T, among others.