In my interview with Channel Intelligence (CI) two weeks ago, CEO Rob Wight mentioned CI’s relationship with CNET and the local product availability information CI provides. With more and more reports (here – PriceGrabber sponsored, here – Y! sponsored, and here) on how online research is influencing offline buying, I wanted to point out this very slick and extremely useful integration. Thanks to Franco Ruggeri @ CNET for the heads up.

Here’s a search for the Slingbox:

CNET Shopper shows all the regular information you’d expect from a shopping comparison engine (review, prices, stores, etc.) – click on image for more detail:

Now the cool part – In store availability information and detailed store information (address, phone, hours, etc.) – click on image for more detail:

This is just what the reports are saying people want. Imagine how helpful this feature will be to the other half – the people who don’t buy online. Imagine how helpful this feature will be to the people who want a product NOW – I personally have spent hours on the phone with less than competent clerks at leading retailers trying to find out if they had a product in stock. Imagine how helpful this feature will be to all those procrastinators who wait until the the last couple days before Christmas to shop. Ok, enough gushing.

The only thing that CNET Shopper is missing is an overlay of the local availability information on Google Maps or Yahoo Maps Beta.

While PriceRunner.com’s in store price checkers serve their purpose (allowing online shoppers to generally see if they are getting a good deal online), CNET’s local availability information brings the idea to the next level by providing scalable and actionable information. I don’t know any other comparison engine doing this.

You don’t hear much about CNET Shopper or it’s cousin, the new MySimon, but kudos to Franco and the rest of the CNET Shopping team for building a really powerful service.