Google Adds “Offers” Tab to Help Users Find Deals

Google has launched “Offers,” a new tab in its Play Store to help users find deals in games and apps in a number of categories, including travel, shopping, entertainment and fitness.

According to an announcement on the Google blog Thursday (Jan. 27), the rollout is underway and will become available to more people in the U.S., Indonesia and India in the coming weeks. More countries are due to be added later in the year.

The feature includes sections such as “Offers for apps you might like,” which helps users easily find deals relevant to them. Google says it’s working with the developers of some of its top apps and games to add new deals all the time.

“Offers is a win-win,” said Allison Boyd, senior product marketing manager of fitness app Strava. “We get an additional touchpoint with people to share information about a valuable promotion or update, and people can easily redeem the offer by opening the Strava app from the Offers tab.”

Google says some of the deal types Offers will show include sales on game and in-game items, rewards and bundled offers, and discounts on books and movies. Some apps will offer 30 days for free, while others will let people sign up for extended trials at no cost.

Read more: Google Rolls Out New Monetization Features For App Developers

Last year, Google announced it was raising the service fee tier designed to help improve developer success on Google Play. The tech giant had initially said the hike would be 30% for the first $1 million in earnings each year, but eventually shaved that number down to 15%.

Also in 2021, Google unveiled updates to a number of features like maps and photos, a sign the company is looking to demonstrate its advancements in artificial intelligence.