[October 09, 2015]

LivingSocial launches real-time booking tool for beauty appointments

LivingSocial, the local marketplace to find and share the best experiences in your city and beyond, today announced the launch of FastBook from LivingSocial (News - Alert), an easy and instant way to book beauty appointments. FastBook is the company's first-ever booking solution.

"FastBook really means what the name implies," said Nick Macey, SVP and Head of Product at LivingSocial. "We're making it faster and more convenient for consumers to meet a last-minute beauty need or to plan a pampering session, eliminating the time and stress of finding a high-quality spa or salon that is right for them."

"This is the latest step in LivingSocial's journey toward becoming the leading experiences marketplace. The health and beauty category is a strong market for us as our customers enjoy pampering themselves, as a group activity with their friends, or when looking to gift a great experience," continued Macey.

With FastBook, consumers can book and confirm a massage, facial or nail appointment the same day, or schedule up to two weeks in advance, with spas or salons that are near them. The simple, user-friendly tool allows consumers to click on the desired service, browse and compare prices, and then determine the merchant, time and date that best meets their needs. FastBook also includes photos and ratings of the participating merchants.

FastBook is being offered as a pilot to consumers in Austin. At launch, it offers real time booking with dozens of top spas and salons in the city. This improved user experience is available on both desktop and mobile web through LivinSocial.

For health and beauty merchants, FastBook enables them to more effectively fill available appointment slots and tap into those last-minute beauty needs. By seeing in real-time the demand for their services, merchants can better manage customer flow and staffing levels.

The introduction of FastBook follows LivingSocial's September launch of Restaurants Plus in Atlanta, a program that makes it easy for consumers to dine at restaurants while saving money automatically. The pilots represent LivingSocial's evolution into a destination for consumers to discover, share and gift experiences.

"FastBook is LivingSocial's newest initiative that delivers on our passion of offering a rich customer experience with real value," added Macey. "Both of our pilots pair new functionality for an improved customer solution with added advantages for merchant partners, and are designed to bring the best experiences to our users, whether it's right at their desk or in the palm of their hands."

For more details about our pilot programs, please visit the LivingSocial newsroom.

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View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151009005102/en/

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