Lokata – a new online guide in the world of shopping is launched
Bonial International Group, with kaufDA the leading German location-based services provider for shopping information and Fast Lane Ventures, Russian company focused on the development, launch and promotion of innovative internet businesses, announce the launch of Lokata – innovative location-based online service which gives a unique opportunity to search and promote goods and services. Since today Lokata is available at the website www.lokata.ru together with mobile applications which can be downloaded in Apple’s AppStore and Google Play (Android Market). With retailers’ latest offers Lokata empowers Russian shoppers with all the information they need to make better shopping decisions before they even step into a store. The online platform offers:
- location based search: to find stores nearby
- filters: to search products by category, retailer and even brand
- alerts: to know when their favorite products are promoted
- retailer information: to find location, contact details, opening hours
- interactive: to view retailers’ catalougs and brochures
Lokata allows customers to make better shopping decisions by searching prices, location and opening hours of different stores. Lokata Mobile Apps for iPhone, iPad and Android allows customers to find necessary information where they need it and when they need it: аt home, on the road, in the mall or inside the store. Lokata is based on the innovative model of kaufDA, market maker and leader among location-based brochure services in Germany. Today the total reach of kaufDA’s network is 32 million unique visitors per month. Over 1 Million people are already using kaufDA mobile applications in Germany. Since its launch kaufDA recorded over 1 Billion brochure page views. More than 200 retailers are already kaufDA clients; the service contains information about 220.000 retail outlets in Germany. Customers are increasingly looking for information about products and services on the Internet before making a purchase. They are interested not only in availability of a particular product, but also in its cost and location of a store as well as accompanied range of products. Lokata combines all services to meet this complex query – search for products in various categories, geo-targeting to find the nearest store and the ability to view online catalogs with all the range of products available at the moment. Together with mobile applications Lokata does the impossible: leads customers from the Internet straight to the doors of offline stores. Christian Gaiser, CEO Bonial International Group: «We are proud to launch Lokata which is our third project after kaufDA in Germany and Bonial in France. The decision wasn’t made randomly: Russia, according to the latest researches, takes the first place in Europe in terms of internet connectivity among all European countries – so we see a great potential in this market. We are sure that both Russian consumers and retailers will benefit from Lokata. And we expect that Lokata will become a trendsetter of online search and promotion of goods and services offered by Russian retailers, like kaufDA in Germany and Bonial in France». Marina Treshova, CEO Fast Lane Ventures: «Our experience in launch and promotion of internet start-ups together with original business model will provide our new service with high and quality traffic just in the first months since its launch. Retailers’ proposals placed on Lokata will be promoted through search engines, with geographically targeted contextual advertising as well as through widgets at the websites of our partners. These are not only the websites of other Fast Lane Ventures’ companies – in particular, Lokata team have already reached an agreement with Avito.ru». Zhanna Shalimova, CEO Lokata: «Our plans for Lokata development are not limited to million cities. Income per capita in Russian regions is growing faster than in Moscow and already exceeds $500 per month. Internet connectivity in Russian regions may exceed 85% by 2015. All these factors make Russian regions highly attractive for advertisers. We create Lokata as a national service that will cover the whole country». Alexey Filatov, CEO BBCG: «Lokata deserves attention and confidence of retailers from the very first moment. Original business model of Bonial International Group, successful in Europe and experience of Fast Lane Ventures in creating and managing successful Internet startups in Russia are the key factors of success for any retailer looking for the effective promotion of its products and services».