Mobile phone provider Sprint Nextel and GPShopper have teamed up to launch a service that uses the web and global positioning technology to let shoppers use their mobile phones to search for products and the local stores that carry them.
The service is a new version of GPShopper’s Slifter application, which consumers can download from the web to their cell phones. Slifter is connected via the web to databases that let shoppers search among more than 85 million products available at more than 30,000 retail stores across the U.S., GPShopper says.
By entering a keyword like “bluejeans,” for example, a Slifter-enabled phone will produce a list of the closest retail stores that carry bluejeans, plus information on price and current availability. Retailers bid on keywords to have their stores appear in search rankings, which also take into account a store’s geographic location, a GPShopper spokeswoman says.
“With Slifter from GPShopper, Sprint customers can use their phones to find the closest retailer to purchase a desired item, without needing to check a phone book, Internet listing or map,” says George Ranallo, director of wireless data applications for Sprint.
The global positioning version of Slifter, currently available only for Sprint mobile phones, at an extra monthly fee of $1.99, differs from the standard Slifter application by automatically identifying a shopper’s geographic location and providing more accurate listings of products and retail stores, the GPShopper spokeswoman says. The non-GPS version of Slifter, which is available for other wireless services, requires a shopper to first enter a ZIP code.
GPShopper expects other wireless carriers to eventually also offer a global positioning version of Slifter, the spokeswoman says.
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