Americans love driving. They also love receiving steep discounts on meals, shows and consumable goods. Someone was bound to find a way to combine the two, and that company is daily deal startup Roximity. On Wednesday it launched a new version of its deal-finder app that integrates with Ford’s connected car platform Sync.
Think of Roximity as a hyperactive version of Groupon Now. It doesn’t just find nearby deals, it actively pushes offers to you as you near a participating business. The new app available through iTunes has all of the capabilities of its old service, but if you also happen to be the owner of Sync-equipped vehicle it adds an extra dimension to Roximity’s bargain-hunting service.
At any time you can query the Roximity app through Sync’s voice command interface for specific types of deals. Sync then spits out all of the offers available in that category within a predefined search radius. For instance you can ask Sync-Roximity to find you a lunch deal and it will find whatever falafel, sushi or pizza offers are in the vicinity. The same goes for gas, auto mechanics, bars, concerts and a dozen other pre-determined categories.
Roximity isn’t the first location-based deal service out there. Placecast, Loopt and Shopkick are just a few among the growing army of startups using geo-fencing deliver more relevant offers. Meanwhile, familiar names like Paypal and Foursquare are launching their own deal-based marketing services. Roximity, however, is the first of those companies to make it into the car dashboard. The Boulder, Co.,-based company won that honor by winning Ford’s Sync App Developer Challenge last year.
