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Web site is modern-day Santa's helper

Online technology helps gift seekers find hot items in real stores.

By SHARON WYNNE, Times Staff Writer
Published December 7, 2007

Technology is finally coming to the aid of beleaguered parents who in years past stood in line to wrestle the last Tickle Me Elmo or XBox 360 out of other shoppers' hands.

Florida-based iTrackr.com aims to keep online tabs on the hot must-haves by monitoring the inventory at the local Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, EBGames, Sears and Target stores and update its subscribers every few hours about stores in their ZIP code.

John Rizzo, iTrackr.com president, said he was inspired by eBay, which doesn't make or sell any products of its own. It just puts buyers and sellers together.

Though his Boca Raton company isn't making money yet on what's offered as a free service, he sees a future in connecting Web-savvy customers with real brick-and-mortar retailers, adding price-comparison features and even e-mailed coupons to direct traffic to local stores.

"Just like Google, we are a search engine," Rizzo said. The algorithm his company invented searches the inventory and shipping records of numerous retailers to track when products are in stock.

A check of Tampa Bay area stores turned out to be accurate and even helped a few co-workers track down a Wii for Christmas.

Of the 22 stores in the ZIP code entered, only two indicated Wii systems in stock:GameStop stores in Pinellas Park and at BayWalk. A call to the stores confirmed that, yes, they had "a couple," meaning you better hotfoot it down there before they were gone. And as reported on the site, the Sears in Clearwater had the Guitar Hero bundle for XBox 360 in stock.

Some users have complained when the elusive Wii wasn't at the retailers as promised. So iTrackr reminds users that some stores are slow to update their inventory, so call before heading out and talk to a manager rather than a clerk because the stuff might not be on the floor yet.

The idea started in 2005 when the XBox 360 first hit the market and was in high demand. Rizzo's partner came up with an algorithm he used to check one local Best Buy in South Florida that would send an alert to mobile phones when the game system was in stock.

"I got thinking that it was cute to do one little store, but what if we did that systemwide and nationwide?"

The stores could also do this, but Rizzo said so far he hasn't encountered any resistance from the retailers to his Web site.

"We take people who are shopping online and researching online. We are physically pushing them into a bricks-and-mortar location so they can have the product today instead of waiting for the shipping."

Since he can't build a business simply on the must-have products being out of stock, Rizzo sees the long-term goal for the site as a vehicle for advertising. He envisions retailers targeting coupons to customers who are actively looking to buy, say, a coffeepot or a new television. They would be able to use their cell phones to look up price comparisons in their ZIP code and even get an e-mailed coupon from a retailer.

Last year the Web site had 75,000 users, and thanks to online buzz is up to 150,000 registered users. It gives Rizzo thoughts of even bigger game: determined mommies.

"The applications are limitless," Rizzo said. "I have some thoughts on ways we could use this to get Miley Cyrus tickets, like the ones the scalpers got to."

Sharon Wynne can be reached at wynne@sptimes.com.

We want our Wiis

Here are the most searched-for items on iTrackr.com

Nationwide

1. Nintendo Wii
2. Guitar Hero 3 Bundle, 360
3. Wii Play with Wii Remote
4. XBOX 360 Premium
5. Wii Nunchuck Controller

Top 5 around Tampa Bay

1. Nintendo Wii
2. Wii Nunchuck Controller
3. Wii Play with Wii Remote
4. Wii Remote
5. Apple -- iPod touch 8GB MP3 Player -- Black

[Last modified December 7, 2007, 02:31:43]