Groupon Inc. has partnered with Chicago-based SmartDigital, a technology company that makes interactive touchscreen kiosks, to offer daily and location-based deals through terminals in heavily trafficked areas.
 
The deals will start appearing on SmartDigital kiosks on Wednesday and be rolled out to more than 100 machines throughout Chicago over the next 90 days. The kiosks are located in busy destinations such as Navy Pier, Water Tower Place and the Hyatt Regency McCormick.

The machines will display both Groupon's featured daily deals and Groupon Now! real-time offers, which are targeted to specific locations and typically expire within hours. Consumers can purchase the vouchers by swiping their credit cards at the kiosks. If they're already Groupon subscribers, they can log into the site at the terminal and pay with their credit card on file.
 
"The ideal transaction occurs because you're walking by a (kiosk) and a commercial plays that asks, 'Have you had lunch yet?'" said George Burciaga, chief executive of SmartDigital. "When you touch the screen, it will show you hyperlocal offers around you right now."
 
The Groupon application on the kiosk will also allow someone to e-mail a deal to a friend or share an offer via Facebook. The SmartDigital kiosks are outfitted with other services such as CTA bus- and train-tracking applications, interactive advertising and news. The company, which launched in August, has partnerships with companies such as the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Magazine.
 
Burciaga said Chicago is the first market for the Groupon partnership and the company plans to roll out deals in Miami and New York.
 
Groupon spokeswoman Julie Mossler said the dailydeals company has previously experimented with kiosks in bars, but the SmartDigital partnership marks the first time Groupon is making its deals available on outdoor terminals.