JiWire has purchased location-based mobile shopping platform NearbyNow. Terms were not disclosed.

“Going well beyond the very simple geo-location "check-in," NearbyNow enables brands to show users current product catalogues, and even whether a product is currently in-stock at a specific nearby store. To further drive conversions, NearbyNow’s technology allows brands to offer loyal customers a mobile concierge service that confirms product availability at local stores and then places them on-hold for later pick-up. For example, a Seventeen Magazine mobile app user sees an ad for her favorite boots online and instantly checks local inventory. If they are in-stock, the shopper reserves the boots and they are ready at the counter when she arrives. This platform is the first ever to track both online and in-store sales, offering a turnkey solution to attract, measure and advertise to lucrative mobile shoppers. It has seen outstanding ad click-though rates of more than 20 percent and conversion-to-purchase average rates of 5.8 percent. NearbyNow has had great successes working with large retail customers such as Nike, Levi’s, Estee Lauder, Hearst, Macy’s and Nordstrom, adding to JiWire’s repertoire of Fortune 500 brands.”

With the acquisition, JiWire gets access to nearly 3 million mobile shoppers using apps from lifestyle brands such as GQ, Brides, Redbook, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, and others.

The company now plans to combine its existing location-based advertising platform, which runs across Wi-Fi and mobile for devices such as iPads, smartphones and laptops, with NearbyNow’s ad platform in order to increase ways in which advertisers can reach large numbers of new local customers and drive in-store conversions. The company is already working on new location-based products which leverage the combined capabilities of both platforms.

"The era of location is upon us. It’s not about ‘mobile’ versus ‘display ad,’ it’s about delivering relevant location-based advertising across all media types. The brands that can do this at scale will reap the rewards of the $1 trillion opportunity created by consumers who use online and mobile to influence their offline purchasing," said Scott Dunlap, founder of NearbyNow and vice president of Mobile Business Development at JiWire.