Groupon has launched more than 7m listings for merchants through a new service called Pages, which aims to transform the site into a resource for ratings, tips and deals for local businesses in the US.

Groupon is to use the new pages as a platform to publish more than 20m validated ratings and tips from real customers that it has already gathered, highlighting the unique aspects of local businesses. The new service positions the daily-deals site as a rival to sites such as Yelp and Facebooks business listings.

For merchants, Pages provides an additional online presence they can use to connect with potential customers, driving sales through offers, everyday specials, coupons and other forms of promotion. It also enables merchants to communicate with customers directly, receive real-time feedback and personalise their details with business hours, phone numbers and images.

The service was successfully piloted in Chicago, Washington DC, New York, San Francisco and Seattle, and will now be rolled out across the US.

“Pages brings millions of additional businesses to the Groupon marketplace and connets them with our large community of mobile users looking for things to do, see or buy,” said Eric Lefkofsky, CEO of Groupon. “Were giving these merchants their own space on Groupon and new tools to highlight their businesses and bring new customers through their doors.”