Online service allows shoppers to reserve merchandise at Sunrise Mall

On Friday, Charlotte Russe had an order to reserve a blue dress. Laura Pedraza, associate manager at the store, found the dress and set it aside for the customer.

It was the first reservation for Charlotte Ruse merchandise through Sunrise Mall’s online shopping service, Pedraza said. Mall retailers expect that as word spreads about the new online shopping service it will become a popular option for shoppers.

“It was easy,” Pedraza said. “I just got the order, found the dress and saved it for the customer.”

Facility is part of the appeal, according to Veronica Baca-Martinez, marketing director for Sunrise Mall.

Last month Sunrise Mall became the first mall in the Rio Grande Valley to offer shoppers the opportunity to search and reserve items online.

NearbyNow Inc., a California-based company that develops Internet and mobile search technology for shopping centers and retailers to steer in-store traffic, powers the service.

Shoppers can peruse the virtual isles of Sunrise Mall retailers to search for and reserve products, ensuring items will be available before ever setting foot into a store.

“The service allows us to leverage the Internet and mobile phones to provide more timely and convenient shopping,” Baca-Martinez said. “It’s very exciting.”

CBL & Associated Properties, Inc., which owns and manages Sunrise Mall, had been working to get the mall set up with NearbyNow’s service for months, Baca-Martinez said.

While Sunrise Mall is the only shopping center in the Valley to offer the NearbyNow service, it is by no means the alone.

NearbyNow serves about 200 malls across the nation, according to Pamela Herman, spokeswoman for NearbyNow.

Forrester Research, Inc., a technology and market research company, estimates that the Web directly influences almost $400 billion of store sales.

By 2012 sales are expected to exceed $1 trillion in store sales.

For Herman, convenience is key.

“With the holidays nearing, finding out what is available and reserving items online is very convenient,” Herman said. “You reserve your item, have it gift wrapped and go pick it up. What could be easier?”

Additional features include advertising programs that target shoppers who have already expressed an interest in specific merchandise and on-site text messaging.

The texting feature is especially unique, Baca-Martinez said. It allows shoppers already in the mall to do a mobile phone search to locate products and sales.

To search the mall’s stores and more than 600,000 products, consumers can visit Sunrise Mall’s Web site at sunrisemalltx.com.

The mall hasn’t studied the prevalence of Internet traffic, Baca-Martinez said, but she assured that a customer survey is planned for the near future.

Count Baca-Martinez among the online shoppers.

“It’s a great service,” said Baca-Martinez. “In fact, I just reserved something for myself last night.”