The much-anticipated convergence of the “daily deal” platforms with location-aware mobile services finally appears to be gaining some traction. Called Instant Deals by Living Social, Reward Alerts by Loopt and ShopAlerts by AT&T, to name a few, the goal of each new service is to lure mobile users into brick-and-mortar stores by sending them real-time updates about time-sensitive deals taking place in their current locations.

A restaurant that is experiencing a slow lunch rush, for instance, can attract customers already in the area by creating an instant special and sending out an alert. It presents an ideal marriage between local and mobile commerce, and it will be worth watching as dozens of these programs roll out across the U.S.