From the NYTimes article:
“Google executives said last night that the company planned to move quickly to capitalize on its new Google Base database service, adding a feature that lets merchants provide local shopping information.”
This news comes hot on the heels of CNET Shopper’s local inventory offering which unfortunately didn’t get the press it deserves…and now won’t even be a footnote in people’s minds. Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst at NDP NPD group, who was quoted a couple times in the article said, “consumers will finally know whether a trip to a store is worthwhile.” Finally? Well, finally happened a couple weeks ago.
The article goes on to say that Google will not release who is ‘powering’ the local inventory data, but stated that “companies like Axciom, Channel Intelligence and Shop Local are already providing that information.”
I truthfully don’t know anything about Axciom…did they mean Acxiom? Channel Intelligence clearly has this ability as they are powering CNET’s offering. ShopLocal (incorrectly spelled as 2 words in the article)…well, I’m actually talking to the CEO tomorrow, but I don’t think they have the same data as Channel Intelligence as a lot of their information is from local circulars, not feeds from merchants.
[Ok, enough criticism of the NYTimes. I'm just still bitter about Times Select.]
In the end, this is a nice move by Google. I recently told a Forbes reporter that the local inventory availability provided by CNET Shopper was the biggest news for the holiday season. I guess Google thinks it’s pretty important, too.
If you haven’t already done so, it’s time to add your products to Google Base. ChannelAdvisor even launched a service to help you out.
Update: Danny @ SEW is right, the rollout of local inventory information on CNET Shopper has been slow (only shows up for selected products) and Froogle local clearly jumps into the lead with their service.
Note that in your post criticizing the Times, you refer to the NPD group as NDP group. It happens to the best….
Thank you for thinking of me as the best.
Come on, you’d think the NYTimes has some copy editors…Ok, no more pot shots at the NYTimes.
I think Google’s local shopping service is a little paltry. Looking in certain regions yields few results within 5 miles, even though there is a plethora of relevant stores around me. The Shoplocal.com URL appears in Google Local, so Shoplocal is powering the Google results.