1) Nintendo® Wii™ 2) Ugg® boots 3) Other suede/faux suede boots 4) Nintendo® DS™ 5) Guitar Hero® III 6) Nike® Air Jordans 7) Slatkin & Co. snowman cookie jar 8) Reebok® NFL replica jerseys 9) Be Glam™ mesh sneakers 10) Croc™ Footwear"The Nintendo Wii was by far the hot product for 2007, having sold out at most retailers around November 16th," said Scott Dunlap, NearbyNow's chief executive officer. "Based on the unfulfilled demand at the 194 malls we power, there was nearly $2 million in lost sales on that product alone. Ugg Boots were also popular this year in many styles and colors, and we saw the 'Ugg factor' cross over to other stores as shoppers not finding what they wanted looked to similar styles." Usually a "hot product" that sells out creates a nightmare scenario for retailers. Consumers frantically call retail outlets looking for available items, which in turn disrupts shoppers currently in the stores, creating unusually long hold times on the phone and wait times at the checkout counter. Not only are sales lost from not having inventory in stock, but the shopping experience is tainted for existing and potential customers. The customers' contact information is rarely captured for follow up, limiting opportunities for future sales. As more and more consumers are researching online to buy in-store (currently growing at 17% annually to over $1 trillion in 2012, according to "The Web's Impact On In-Store Sales: US Cross-Channel Sales Forecast, 2006 To 2012," Forrester Research, Inc. May 8, 2007), the pressure on local stores to field calls is expected to balloon. The NearbyNow service alleviates the pressure from "hot products" by creating the ability for consumers to check inventory online without having to make a phone call to the store. Shoppers can access the service on the Web site of any NearbyNow-powered shopping mall, and reserve items from a number of participating retailers. Consumers are notified within 10 minutes via e-mail or text message if the item is available, and when it can be picked up. For retailers, this solves a significant number of pain points:
1) If a product is known to be out of inventory, consumers are notified
without any additional phone calls to the local store.
2) Requests for similar products can be batched together, so one call
from the NearbyNow concierge service can represent more than one
shopper. Similarly, requests made after the store is closed can be
addressed in one call when the store opens the next day.
3) In all cases, contact information is captured for the interested
shopper, so that they can be notified if and when the product becomes
available. Retailers may also choose to offer consumers a credit, gift
card, or refer a similar product. The important thing is that the
consumer is not lost in the holiday madness.
During the 2007 holiday season, the NearbyNow service deflected tens of
thousands of phone calls, reducing inquiries on hot products as much as
35-40% for key retailer partners.
"Contrary to early predictions, people are coming to recognize that
e-commerce isn't where the Internet is having its greatest impact," said
Greg Sterling, founder of Sterling Market Intelligence and senior analyst,
Local Mobile Search. "Instead, the Internet is gaining increasing influence
over local consumer purchase behavior, which is a much larger category."
About NearbyNow, Inc.
NearbyNow, Inc. provides a unique online service that allows consumers to
search all products, brands, and sales currently available at local
shopping centers using the Internet or mobile phones. Working with shopping
centers and retailers across the United States, NearbyNow enables consumers
to easily access local information both before and during their shopping
trips. The company also creates an efficient marketing tool for retailers
to target nearby consumers, helping to drive sales by turning online
shoppers into in-store buyers. NearbyNow is headquartered in Los Altos, CA.
Additional information can be obtained by phone at (650) 947-1300 or via
the Web at www.nearbynow.com, or try our service at a shopping mall near
you by texting to NEARBY (632729).
Contact Information: Media Contact: Beth Trier Trier and Company for NearbyNow beth@triercompany.com 415-285-6147