WebProNews

Google may have finally found a way to get more traffic to its Froogle comparison shopping site, as the company makes a new feature in Base available to help local businesses.

The new service from Google will search a third-party database of retail inventory nationwide, the New York Times reported. The information in the database has been organized by locality.

Also, local businesses can add their items and their locations to Google Base. Searches done in Froogle for items and locations would query Base and return a map of stores with the item in stock.

"The only thing missing from the online retailing equation is 'Do they have what I want,' " Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst at NPD Group said in the report. "But putting inventory on the Web, by store location, means now all of a sudden I have that final piece of the puzzle."

While Google isn't naming the service providing the national retailer inventory, the company did say several hundred chains, including Best Buy and Circuit City, were part of the information store. Chains like those do make local inventory available on their sites currently.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.