August 22, 2013

PriceGrabber acquires Snapette, strengthens local presence

Another technology acquisition is set to impact the e-commerce industry, as customers will likely have more opportunities to learn about local deals. PriceGrabber, a comparison shopping and daily deals website announced that it will acquire Snapette. The latter company is a fashion application for local design shopping.

Snapette gives users an "Instagram-like" feed of offers as they arrive in stores, according to Mashable. The company has partnered with stores as large as Nine West and Joie, but also works with smaller boutiques.

Co-founder and CEO Sarah Paiji told the news source that even before M&A activity began with PriceGrabber, her business was thinking about a strategy shift. As it is currently difficult to prove that the app is driving customers into stores, Paiji explained that the company wants to add transactions as a feature.

PriceGrabber president Jeff Goldstein told TechCrunch that a big part of what Snapette offers his company is the ability to localize. Customers are on their mobile devices and doing research while shopping. They want location-based offers and the ability to source local inventory.

"We were really enthusiastic about the opportunity to partner with Snapette because they have a really interesting, and we think unique, platform that connects local retailers to consumers," he said. "And that's really at the heart of it and what's most interesting about them to us."

Goldstein added that PriceGrabber thinks that's the natural evolution of its business—on the local side of things at least—and Snapette will give the company a necessary push in the right direction. Additionally, the technology acquisition will improve PriceGrabber's position in the mobile market and fashion sector.