Facebook deals are effectively the best ideas from Foursquare, Gowalla, Brightkite and the other location services, with the clout of Facebook's incredible reach.
(More than 200m Facebook users now regularly connect with a mobile device)
The video outlines how it works.
There are 4 types of deals:
Individual Deal - a one-off discount
Loyalty Deal - unlocked when people check in at a venue or chain between 2 and 20 times
Friend Deal - When you tag multiple friends with you when your check in
Charity Deal - Promote a cause
Friends' deals will appear in the news feed, spreading the news about the offer, and marketing the venue. The whole process is user-initiated; I'd expect this to take off very quickly (although I think it's only available in the US for the time being.) Here's the guide to how to use it.
So where does this leave Foursquare etc? I think they'll be fine for the time being, as users seem to use those services (or at least my friends do) more frequently and in a different way. In the long term though, who knows.
The other impact is to further drive the take-up of smartphones. When people see the benefits that their friends get from having a smartphone in terms of real savings, more people will see why they need to have one.
Update - some early deals announced:
"The Gap will give out a free pair of blue jeans to the first 10,000 to check in on a certain day
The Palms Hotel, in Las Vegas, will offer a room upgrade or a free weekend night
JC Penney will offer $10 off any $50 purchase
McDonald’s will give $1 per customer to the Ronald McDonald House Charities."
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