Last week, Vicinity scored a major coup, winning a deal with the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart. The database also includes details on each location, such as whether it features a photo center or pharmacy, for instance. And helping Web surfers find the nearest physical location is the minimum requirement. Vicinity's services relieve companies of the major pain of maintaining and updating those store locator databases. Of course, Vicinity's vision extends beyond such basic services.
Most retail transactions continue to take place offline as opposed to online.
Services such as Vindigo on the Palm platform and basic Web surfing services on cell phones look promising, but are still in their infancy. In a very pragmatic way, and building on top of its basic store locator databases, Vicinity and its customers are beginning to inch toward enabling this more integrated brand of e-commerce. Recently, it has taken to updating the database with more details about each local store, such as special events and sales. Other Vicinity customers are toe-dipping with even more innovative strategies. Several weeks ago, FedEx launched a wireless locator service to help customers find drop-boxes using a wireless phone.