ShopSavvy Localizes Mobile Shopping, Care of Krillion
Krillion announced today that it will power product inventory search on the ShopSavvy application for Google Android based phones. This app gets high marks on the cool factor.
Produced by Big In Japan, ShopSavvy has been a popular free Android application (400,000 users) that lets users scan bar codes to see what deals are available. The scanned data then feed into ShopSavvy’s database to reveal product info for same or similar products.
Krillion essentially now localizes the application by adding its Stock Check local inventory feed to these existing data sets. Krillion has built up these data for the past few years by forming deals with nationwide big-box retailers (Best Buy, Home Depot, Target, Wal-Mart) to tap into their point-of-sale inventory systems. It now has 40,000 retail locations covered.
After a short stint with a primary focus on its own destination site, it began to distribute these data to lots of online partners including Panasonic and Topix. With a view toward the mobile local product search that will grow on the mobile device, it has started to do the same thing for mobile local search applications, including TheFind’s iPhone app.
The latest integration with ShopSavvy should be a powerful one because it lets users scan bar codes at store locations. This means they’re closer to the point of purchase where there’s higher buying intent. In many cases, this will actually drive users away from stores and in the direction of other stores where a better deal may be waiting for them.
Either way, the higher intent to transact will get more retailers on board to both supply their data to Krillion, and also to advertise in many of the shopping apps that Krillion powers. In terms of monetization, Krillion also offers retailers cost-per-action advertising for conversions of products found through its shopping data. With its distribution partners, this often involves a rev share.
Expect to see a lot more deals from Krillion to power mobile shopping, as smartphones and the mobile Web continue to penetrate further into the mainstream. Also expect to encounter Krillion data in more local search apps — though you may not know it’s sitting in the background.
