Price Check on Aisle 12
Say you want to buy a new blender. You go out to your local big-box retailer and spot something you like, at a reasonable price. But you wonder: Could a better deal be found online?
Frucall allows consumers to do a price check instantly from their mobile phone. The service recently introduced Frucall SmartAds, an advertising platform that embeds targeted ads in the calls.
When users call Frucall, they’re prompted to enter a product’s UPC barcode. The system then does a search and gives the shopper the best current online prices for that item from online aggregators like Amazon, Shopping.com and Yahoo! Shopping, which in turn represents hundreds of online merchants, says vice president of marketing Antony Milner.
SmartAds uses the shopper’s telephone number and ZIP code to provide ads that are geographically sensitive and related to the item queried.
