Tracey Cunningham went to Park Meadows mall with the intention of buying a specific Victoria’s Secret bra. But the Aurora resident made the trip only to discover it wasn’t in stock.
“They didn’t have it here,” said Cunningham, 27. “Now I’ll have to try Cherry Creek.”
Park Meadows recently launched a new service called that promises to help shoppers like Cunningham avoid such scenarios. allows shoppers to search mall inventory online and reserve items before they leave home. The service also lets shoppers receive information about sales and promotions via text message.
Park Meadows will begin promoting the service today to kick off back-to-school shopping.
Park Meadows is the first in Colorado to use the service to connect the online browsing experience with in-store buying. Retail-industry experts lauded the move, noting the increasing influence the Internet is having on traditional shopping.
Forrester Research estimates that almost $400 billion in in-store sales are influenced by Web searches and research, accounting for 16 percent of total retail sales. Experts say this will grow to more than $1 trillion by 2012. The study also shows that more than half of consumers research products online before buying at a brick-and-mortar store.
Retail expert Candace Corlett called the service “smart,” “brilliant” and in step with a shopper’s mind-set of getting a lot done. According to the 2006 America Shops report, 48 percent of women have changed the way they shop in an effort to simplify their lives, and 66 percent say it’s important to get the lowest price.
The closest thing to is , where consumers can search for items seen on film, said Corlett, principal at New York-based WSL Strategic Retail.
Corlett sees the service as one more step on the path toward increased e-commerce. But it also gives the traditionalist the option of picking up items at the mall.
“This is thinking global and acting locally,” Corlett said. “This is destination shopping as opposed to impulse shopping. What is attractive to the retailers is that you would come in to pick it up, and then you’d have to check out the shoes or the sales.”
was founded by a group led by chief executive Scott Dunlap, who tracked mall inventory and wanted to share that insight with consumers.
“Although e-commerce is growing, it’s not growing as fast as the Internet is having an influence on in-store commerce,” Dunlap said. “People want to try it out, try it on, see how it feels in the hand, see what it looks like before purchasing it.”
The Silicon Valley company launched a year ago at a San Jose, Calif., mall, followed by four more malls during the holiday season. The company expects to launch at its 100th mall by Aug. 11.
The service is free to consumers and makes money through advertising on its website – not via e-mail ads to customers. So far, it has earned less than $2 million in revenues annually.
NearbyNow is working with several major mall owners and operators, including Westfield, CBL Properties and Park Meadows owner General Growth Properties Inc. Internet traffic ranges from 40,000 to 100,000 unique visitors a month for each mall site, depending on the season.
Stephanie Jackson, spokeswoman for Park Meadows, said the service adds to what the shopping center already offers consumers.
“Our shopper is very savvy, and this gives them another element to finding what the hip item is or the item they want,” she said. “Anything we can do to make their shopping experience easier is a plus for us, to add to that customer service and to give them another amenity.”
The second part of the service happens via text message. Consumers can text-message the service looking for stores with certain items or to find out about sales. In return, consumers get texts with information and one follow-up text advertisement that matches their search.
Amanda Patten, 28, said she could have used NearbyNow last week when she flew into Denver from Phoenix. She needed 18 tubes of L’Occitane hand lotion for a baby shower in Aspen.
She used her phone to search for stores and then called Sephora at Park Meadows while driving there.
“It would be extremely convenient,” she said. “I called because I had to have 18 of them, and I cleaned them out of it.”
Staff writer Elizabeth Aguilera can be reached at 303-954-1372 or eaguilera@denverpost.com.
