Ann Arbor’s PriceLocal browser app compares Amazon pricing to local retailers
When PriceLocal launched a little more than a year ago it was a spunky, local startup carving out a niche by helping local retailers compete with e-commerce prices. Today it is a significantly bigger startup looking to make grow even more during the holiday shopping season.
When PriceLocal launched a little more than a year ago it was a spunky, local startup carving out a niche by helping local retailers compete with e-commerce prices. Today it is a significantly bigger startup looking to make grow even more during the holiday shopping season.
The Ann Arbor-based startup connected with a couple dozen retailers in 2014. This year it has scaled that number into hundreds of retailers and even more users.
“We have thousands of users across the country, in all 50 states,” says Matt Chosid, CEO of PriceLocal. “We have hundreds of businesses across the country.”
PriceLocal’s technology is a plug-in for your web browser. The platform helps consumers search for a product online and then provides local stores the opportunity to match the online price. So, if you are are searching Amazon and other e-commerce sites, you now have the option to see if a local business can offer a comparable price.
“That’s the frosting,” Chosid says. “The real cake is you can search and find where something is located.”
Chosid worked on the litigation team at Borders from the 1990s until it closed, watching e-commerce sites play a critical role in toppling the national bookseller. That experience inspired him to start PriceLocal with the help of Alfa Jango. He also brought on Larry Freed, formerly CEO of ForeSee, as chief strategy officer. PriceLocal currently has a staff of 10 people working toward leveling the playing field for retailers.
“The most important thing to us is local retailers,” Chosid says.
Source: Matt Chosid, CEO of PriceLocal
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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