NearbyKit

Why I built it

Lots of sites need a store locator. If you sell something online and it's also on shelves in real stores, people want to know where they can go buy it today.

And most of the options out there are a racket. Way too expensive.

So I built a modern one for a fraction of the cost.

What it does

A brand adds its stores. Import a CSV of stores and retail partners, or add them one at a time. Tag each store with what it carries. Then paste the embed code onto the store locator page.

Shoppers get a list and a map side by side. They search for where they are, narrow it down to the product they want, and open a store to see if it's open, how to get there, and how to call.

ListMap

Find a storePortlandFilter locations byAllskissnowboardrepairsapparel012345678901234567890123456789 stores nearbyAll locations1 filter active

Northline Outfitters820 NW Everett Street, Portland, OROpen now 4.70.7 miskisapparel

Trailside Supply426 SE Grand Avenue, Portland, OROpen now 4.80.9 miskissnowboardrepairs

Summit & Field1520 SE Division Street, Portland, OROpen now 4.91.5 misnowboardapparel

Riverbend Rentals1930 N Williams Avenue, Portland, OROpen now 4.61.6 miskissnowboardrentals

Alpine Workshop2323 NW 23rd Avenue, Portland, OROpen now 4.92 mirepairsapparel

Back to resultsTrailside SupplyOpen · Closes 7:00 PM4.8128 Google reviewsskissnowboardrepairs426 SE Grand Avenue, Portland, OR(503) 555-0101HoursSundayClosedMonday10:00 AM – 7:00 PMTuesday(Today)10:00 AM – 7:00 PMWednesday10:00 AM – 7:00 PMThursday10:00 AM – 7:00 PMFriday10:00 AM – 7:00 PMSaturday10:00 AM – 7:00 PM

Northline OutfittersTrailside SupplySummit & FieldRiverbend RentalsAlpine Workshop

Finding the right store

A shopper doesn't care about every store a brand has. They care about the closest one that has what they want. So that's what the finder is built around.

The search box looks for a place, not a store name. Type a city, a ZIP, or an address, and the finder asks for the 25 stores closest to that spot, sorted by distance with PostGIS. It doesn't try to load every store on the map. Before you type anything, it starts from a rough guess based on your IP, then switches to your real location if you allow it.

Filters are the brand's product categories, and they stack. Pick snowboard and repairs, and you only see stores with both. A shop that only does repairs isn't the answer, so it doesn't show up.

The details come from Google. When a brand imports its stores, NearbyKit looks each one up on Google Places and fills in the address, the map location, hours, phone number, and rating. Nobody types in hours by hand. But those hours are a snapshot from the import, not a live feed, so holidays need a refresh.

And for the brand, it's one embed code. A brand can preview its finder privately, and only a published one loads on other sites. After that, they manage their stores in NearbyKit, and every change shows up on their site without touching the embed again.