"Our experience with iPhone shoppers shows they are 17 times more likely to go to a local store than buy online," NearbyNow CEO Scott Dunlap said in a press release I'd have otherwise deleted. NearbyNow makes what insiders call a "white label" technology for finding and selling to shoppers who now carry their smartphones into the store.
NearbyNow today announced what they're calling the NearbyNow iPhone Platform, based on the company's previous work building an app for Lucky magazine.
Where'd he get that 17-times-more-likely claim? "We put two buttons, equal sized on their iPhone," Dunlap said in a phone interview. "Buy Online, and Find Nearby." Buy Online was on top, but test marketees proved they'd much rather go to a local store than wait for a package ordered online. Dunlop hopes to propagate the term "mobile shopping" for those potential buyers roaming stores and malls with an iPhone in hand.
"We have a concierge service that actually calls the store," he said. "Then it tells the customer onscreen, 'We spoke to Dianne, she's on the second floor in the shoe department, and they have it in your size right now.'"
For apparel and jewelry, Dunlap said, Find Nearby gets clicked far more than Buy Online. "Our biggest day was the day before Valentine's Day," he said. "All the guys who'd put off popping the Big Question -- or just buying jewelry last minute. They wanted to know they could go to the store, skip the upsell, and say 'I'm here to pick up my order.' We can measure that purchase all the way into the store."
Do they really have a human dial the store? "Yes, that's our secret," Dunlop said. "The inventory records we get are fantastic, but they're just not 100% accurate."
NearbyNow has succeeded mostly on deals with national magazines, providing the behind-the-scenes service for ads served by Lucky, Seventeen, and Runner's World. Dunlap has a pending deal with a bridal mag he'd love to tell me about.
So far, the ad world hasn't been as rocked by the Internet as you might expect if you spend a lot of time reading blogs. "It's true, the big money is with the big magazines," he said. Top advertisers still pay top dollar to get into top publications."
So far, investors agree there's money in that plan. The Mountain View-based company has raised nearly $19 million, mostly from Draper Fisher Jurvetson, since its founding in May 2006.