EBay’s Shopping.com has teamed with Krillion to launch The Krillion 360 Product Locator, which steers shoppers towards both online ecommerce sites and local retailers. The Locator can be added as a button to any website.
On one level, The Locator doesn’t seem to aid Krillion’s core mission: boosting local retailer sales. Just when you were going to buy a new phone at the local Fry’s, you see the cheaper version on Shopping.com. But if the button gets widely syndicated, the extended reach might result in more traffic.
Krillion CEO Joel Toledano tells us that the Locator reflects a basic reality: you have to give shoppers all their options. “You can’t hide or show one channel,” he says, emphasizing that Krillion still provides leads to retailers, and helps product manufacturers sell their products.
Toledano also says that the relationship with Shopping.com (and eBay) is a limited one: While Krillion’s local listings are featured on other ecommerce sites, such as The Find, they are not being featured on the Shopping.com site. Generally speaking, Toledano notes that the 13 person company has made steady progress in building more manufacturer and retailer relationship, and it continues to work towards profitability.