"System for providing localized shopping information" is a very valuable patent of Local Corp
The patent, originally filed in 2007 and granted in 2011, sounds a lot like Groupon and other local deals sites.
“A localization service is provided that provides users with online information on local retailers that sell particular products,” the patent abstract says. “A user can perform a search using a web page associated with the localization service or by searching using an internet search engine. The user’s search includes a search origin. The search origin may be defined in terms of location information such as a place name or a postal code. A search for a particular product at local retailers may be made using search parameters such as search origins, product names, model numbers, product categories, and product attributes. The localization service may provide the user with search results in the form of web pages that list which retailers sell the desired product in the vicinity of the search origin. A targeted advertisement server at the localization service may use display criteria to determine which targeted advertisements should be displayed for the user.”
Local Corporation’s patented Krillion local shopping platform provides relevant local product search results, including retail locations, brands, categories, product images and product inventory and availability data, to millions of connected consumers researching online prior to purchase. The new platform features significant technology enhancements, which enable better data aggregation and allow it to normalize large amounts of unstructured data more efficiently.
The Krillion platform aggregates national local shopping content and offers it through a range of APIs tailored for both online and mobile channels and devices. Retailers and brand marketers included in the Krillion data index can reach more local consumers and drive shopper engagement and sales, both online and in-store.
Local Corporation was granted patent number 8,032,427 in October 2011, which covers a system for providing localized shopping information. Less
Local acquired local-search startup Krillion in 2011 for its local-shopping data engine. Local invested heavily in Krillion's technology development, leveraging Local's expertise in working with large data sets to scale Krillion's API resources. Local reaches 10% of U.S. Internet users through its sites and syndication network and serves more than 3 billion ads a day. These huge traffic numbers are supported by sophisticated back-end technology. Local made it easier to get data into Krillion programmatically, and its product data set grew exponentially.
Krillion by Local now powers local-shopping experiences for apps, brands and retailers. Krillion provides apps with real-time access to data on products, pricing and in-store availability at popular retailers, including Best Buy, Sears, Target and Wal-Mart.
"Geofencing" technology allows brands and retailers to message consumers with offers that incorporate real-time product data when they come within a certain distance of a store. "Ambient data" feeds allow retailers to place store hours and location information next to product-related YouTube videos.
"Krillion's dynamic data feeds enable advertising and app data to be delivered in highly personalized ways," says Local CEO Fred Thiel. "Marketers can reach targeted consumers based on where they happen to be, where they are going and what products they have been researching."
Investing in APIs is strategically important for Local. The Krillion API allows them to work with large corporations willing to subscribe to expensive data feeds. Local previously focused more on selling advertising packages to small and medium-sized business. Also, more than half of Local's revenue comes from partnerships with Yahoo and Google, so Local is now able to diversify its revenue and reduce dependence on those two tech giants.
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Local Corp. Uses Krillion API to Grow in New Markets
Friday, July 18, 2014 (ProgrammableWeb)
Expertise in working with APIs and big data is paying off for Local Corp. Local built a $100 million business by aggregating huge amounts of data and then serving ads to consumers searching for local business and product listings. Local is now using APIs to extend its local-search business into fast-growing markets such as mobile shopping apps.
"Krillion by Local" offers powerful API access to real-time data about 120,000 retail stores, 4,300 shopping categories and 3 million product SKUs.