eBay Unveils Local Inventory Online

Offering consumers a one-stop destination for deals, both online and in stores nearby, eBay (News - Alert) has introduced the first major integration of local inventory onto eBay.com, where the local inventory is powered by Milo.

The local availability results show shoppers which local stores in their neighborhood currently have a desired item in-stock and how much it costs at each location, which makes accessing both online and offline shopping worlds more convenient than ever imagined.

Through a near-real-time search on eBay.com, the new features allow shoppers to check product and merchandise availability at local retailers directly. Consumers have even more choices now, with access to millions of products from approximately 50,000 stores across all 50 states through Milo integration. Through a new inventory management plug-in, eBay is providing retailers who use QuickBooks a way to easily upload their inventory onto Milo and eBay.

“eBay is uniquely positioned to help retailers, large and small, compete globally in new ways and to help consumers shop for whatever they want – anytime, anywhere,” said Dane Glasgow, vice president, global product management, eBay. “By integrating Milo search into eBay.com, we are making it easier and more convenient for our customers to find great deals, whether they’re shopping online or around the corner.”

To check a product's local, or in-store, availability directly from the eBay search results page eBay shoppers can now use a new local shopping tab by opting in. Allowing shoppers to find the exact product they want, whether it's online e at a local retailer near them, product pages for MP3 players and GPS devices now also include a local shopping tab, the company has stated.

Recently, the company announced plans to launch a worldwide service that will bridge foreign countries marketplaces together. The e-commerce giant will allegedly launch an international service that would help Internet shoppers in Russia, Greece and other European countries tap into the company’s U.S., U.K. and German online marketplaces. With more than 90 million active users globally, eBay is the world’s largest online marketplace, “where practically anyone can buy and sell practically anything.