Google Poses New Threat to Groupon

Google has done what might be called a roll-up in the daily deals business. The search giant says that more than a dozen sites, including zozi, kgbdeals and Gilt City, will distribute their deals through Google Offers.

It's the latest headache for Groupon, which along with Living Social quickly grew to dominate the daily deals space but has been stymied in its efforts to go public by the wobbly stock market.

The deal with Google means the smaller competitors can stop fighting each other and use Google's massive reach and superior targeting technology to aim deals at the most attractive targets.

Google will also be using something called  "Offer Ads," a service that places deals against search results, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Google's attempt to make a splash in the daily deals business, Google Offers, has been little more than lukewarm, capturing only about 1% of the market in its first year.

Today's roll-up may change that, but however it turns out for the players, it should be helpful to consumers by putting more deals at their fingergtips.

The same can't be said for Groupon.  Google's move may scare off potential investors in Groupon's IPO, set for this Thursday.  The widely-read Barron's trashed the IPO this week, saying Groupon has an unproven earnigns record and slowing growth.