Start-up search companies are making it easier for shoppers to find which local stores carry a particular style in their size, reserve it, try it on in the store and buy it.
The idea is to reach shoppers who browse online before they visit brick-and-mortar stores.
During Thanksgiving weekend, NearbyNow rolled out the cell phone part of its search service for shopping malls. On Thursday, BrandHabit unveiled its Web site, a magazine-like directory of contemporary designers and retailers with profiles and blogs. By late January, the site will include searches.
Other local search engines include ShopLocal and Yokel. In addition, syndication services like StepUp are helping mom-and-pop retailers list their inventory on popular search engines such as Google and Froogle. (Intuit recently acquired StepUp, and Intuit’s latest point-of-sale software uses the technology.)
“There’s no doubt this will be a very big and important part of the Internet going forward,” said Matthew Booth, an analyst with research firm The Kelsey Group of Princeton, N.J., which tracks local advertising media. Local search is still in an early phase, and search engines and store inventory systems do not yet match up, he said. Typically, a search on Froogle or on Pronto, which lists an unusually large 45 million products for sale online, cannot tell a shopper if a brick-and-mortar store carries that particular item or if a certain size is in stock.
NearbyNow has taken an unusual approach by working in partnership with mall operators, such as the Westfield Group. Shoppers can search for “Seven For All Mankind,” “skinny jeans,” or a particular style number on the mall’s Web site. Participating stores pay less than a cent if an image of a product they carry comes up on the search. Even if a retailer does not send inventory information to NearbyNow, its name will still come up on a search for relevant brands and categories.
So far, the Mountain View, Calif.-based service has made its biggest splash with teen-oriented chains such as American Eagle Outfitters and Hot Topic, said Scott Dunlap, chief executive officer and president. Those companies and their customers “just get it,” he said.
By April, the one-year-old company plans to be in dozens of malls in 20 U.S. cities. NearbyNow gets information by crawling the Web for photos and descriptions, then matches those to data feeds supplied by the retailers that list local store inventories.
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Some items are displayed with a “reserve now” button. If the shopper clicks it, her size will be put on hold until she can come into the store and try it on. While the number of shoppers who make reservations is small, of those who do, more than 70 percent show up in the store and buy something. More than 90 percent buy more than one item, Dunlap said.
The company does not have data on how its search engine affects traffic and sales in stores in general, but hopes to soon have more information from coupon and text messaging promotions that started this week with the rollout of the mobile service. Signs in the mall prompt shoppers to text for coupons and other information.
BrandHabit is working directly with brands and retailers rather than mall operators, particularly contemporary designers and small boutiques. The service is intended to be especially helpful to consumers who might see a hot item in a magazine and want to know where to buy it. BrandHabit will liaison with brands’ press relations departments to feature items that have been mentioned in magazines, ceo Carla Morton said. Brands and retailers can also supply BrandHabit with inventory information, which will show up in product searches. Participating companies can go into a password-protected area on the Web site to update their listings. In the future, they will be able to send out e-mail blasts and list events such as sample sales.
A total of 120 designers and 250 retailers have signed on, filling the site’s database with more than 15,000 retailers and almost 1,000 designers. Designers include Mint, Nicole Miller, Michael Stars and Robert Rodriguez. Among the retailers are Diavolina, Kitson and Tracy Ross. Retailers pay a monthly fee to be included, which Morton did not disclose.
Morton worked 10 years as a jewelry designer, then did executive search for high-tech firms before starting the San Francisco-based company. Former Marie Claire editor in chief Lesley Jane Seymour is on BrandHabit’s advisory board.
Designers and retailers can use the site as a tool to upload information they wish to push to consumers — and increase sales at brick-and-mortar stores, Morton said. “We’re increasing brand awareness and accessibility of emerging brands as well as established designer brands,” she said.