To help last minute holiday shoppers, EBay is sending them to bricks and mortar stores.

Yes, you read that right. The company has adopted a counter-intuitive strategy intended to make its Web site more of a resource – even if it means sending shoppers elsewhere.

A new area introduced on Tuesday, GiftsNearby, enables users to find products at stores in their neighborhoods. Procrastinators who failed to order gifts online in time for a pre-Christmas delivery are its target audience.“We think it will make eBay an even more compelling starting point for consumers,” said Christopher Payne, head of eBay North America.

EBay, based in San Jose, Calif., is trying to revamp its online marketplace after several years of slow growth caused by user dissatisfaction with the site’s clunky technology and cluttered listings. Assisting last minute shoppers is part of an effort to build user loyalty and make the marketplace more relevant on the days preceding Christmas, after the shipping deadlines have passed.

GiftsNearby is the first integration of Milo.com, a local shopping search engine, into eBay.com’s marketplace. EBay acquired Milo.com this month and had already added its service to its RedLaser mobile shopping app.

EBay’s GiftsNearby provides product results and product availability information for 26 large brick-and-mortar retailers, including Target, Radio Shack and Toys “R” Us. Only one store, Best Buy, allows users to buy products online through eBay’s new service and then pick it up in a store.



GiftsNearby, which is to be shuttered in early January, is an experiment for eBay, according to Mr. Payne. The findings will help the company determine how to incorporate Milo.com elsewhere on eBay.

Valentine’s Day is one possibility, Mr. Payne said. Although eBay currently makes no money from GiftsNearby, it may in the future by becoming a source of paying customers for retailers like Best Buy.

This is not the first time eBay has funneled shoppers on its marketplace to other retailers. In the past, it experimented with mixing results from its comparison shopping engine, Shopping.com, with eBay.com’s search listings for certain products, Mr. Payne said.