The days of spending hours on store Web sites looking for appliances may be over.
According to a press release from Krillion, a new search engine, “75 percent of those who buy big-ticket items do all their research online and make over 90 percent of their purchases offline.” Launched last month, Krillion hopes to make it easier to find national brands in local stores.
How does it work? Let’s say you have done the research and decided to buy a Whirlpool refrigerator. You know the model, size, and color you want. Instead of visiting the sites of—or worse calling—Sears, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and other appliance outlets to find the best deal, you can use Krillion. Enter your zip code and the appliance name and model in the search engine, then Krillion produces a list of stores that sell that model, plus prices. If you are unsure of the model you want, you can search by broader terms like “White GE Refrigerators.”
The site focuses on large appliances—refrigerators, ovens, ranges, washers and dryers, and dishwashers—but plans to expand its reach to other products like consumer electronics and lawn and garden equipment soon.