Motorola Solutions Venture Capital has led a $1 million round of financing for Menlo Park based Nearbuy Systems which specializes in indoor “micro-location.”
Motorola Solutions joined Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors, and Metamorphic Ventures to raise the cash which should help Nearbuy Systems deploy its software into major retail stores.
Knowing precisely where a shopper is in one’s store is something of a “holy grail” for the retail world, as it allows merchants to send relevant promotions to customers at just the right time.
With more and more customers shopping with smartphone in hand, this notion has gone rapidly from dream to near-reality.
Shoppers need simply opt-in to allow retailers to push select promotions directly to their phones as they shop. And with location context built in, retailers won’t have to fly blind when it comes to knowing what their customers are looking for. Think of it as a sort of supermarket concierge.
Reese Schroeder, managing director at Motorola Solutions Venture Capital, said his firm had been interested in investing in Nearbuy because “Indoor micro-location for shoppers and employees is a compelling solution for retailers.
“What attracted us to Nearbuy is the location accuracy of their solution coupled with the fact that it utilizes the retailer’s existing Wi-Fi and camera infrastructure and can be implemented quickly,” he said.
See a video of what Nearbuy offers below:
