StepUp Local Shopping Search Gets $6.6 Million in Funding
StepUp Commerce, Inc, a net based local shopping service, has closed a $6.6 million funding round to enhance its local shopping service for retailers. Investors of StepUp, which is helping to power Google base with its local shopping search aggregation, received the funding from Allegis Capital and Granite Ventures, LLC.
From the release : The new round reflects the rapid growth in Internet local shopping and the success StepUp has achieved in this area with over 1,200 retailers using its service nationwide. Over 70% of U.S. households use the Internet as an information source when shopping locally, yet only a fraction of physical store inventory is online. StepUp bridges that gap by offering brick-and-mortar retailers a service to showcase their in-store products to online shoppers in their area.
Retailers’ products are then syndicated through partnerships StepUp has formed with media sites, shopping comparison sites and major search engines, such as Google. StepUp will use the funds to meet the growing demand for its service and continue to develop patent-pending technology focused on automating the process of synchronizing retail inventory information.
“StepUp’s service fills a critical, but currently unmet, need in Internet-based shopping applications: helping online consumers locate the products they need in stores within their local zip codes,” said Bob Ackerman, Managing Director of Allegis Capital. “We were impressed by the company’s proven leadership team and the application of technology to help gather, manage and maintain local product inventory information.”
