Check out Westfield's Facebook Check In Deals

Stephen Withers
Monday, 15 August 2011 10:17

Your IT - Mobility

If you're one of those who likes other people knowing where you are and what you're spending your money on, you might be interested in a new tie-up between Westfield and Facebook Places.

Shopping centre operator Westfield is claiming an Australian first for its adoption of Facebook Places to deliver exclusive offers. The idea is that if Facebook users check in at a Westfield centre they will receive special offers, beginning with 30% off any full-priced piece of jewellery from Angus & Coote.

Next week's offer will be 30% off full-priced items at Cotton On. (We'll leave it to the reader to guess which demographic is being targeted.)

"Retail, and particularly the way we can now target shoppers with special deals and discounts, has changed dramatically over the past decade," said John Batistich, Westfield's general manager of marketing. "With tools such as Facebook Check In Deals we're now able to communicate to our shoppers in relevant and localised ways."

Before taking advantage of such offers, it would be wise to review your Facebook privacy settings to ensure you're not sharing more information than you wish.

In addition to deals like those being offered by Angus & Coote and Cotton On, the Facebook Deals platform also handles loyalty offers (eg, a free drink on your sixth visit), 'friend' offers (bonuses offered to groups patronising an establishment together), and donations to charity.

Places is available via the Facebook's mobile site and on the Facebook app for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, HP webOS and Windows Phone 7.