Mapping software locates cereal on a shelf in a shop

Add-on app from an Israeli startup offers retailers window into shopping habits

Spotted: Israeli startup Oriient has created mapping software to help people find their way through buildings. Like GPS — only for indoor use — the Add-on app makes it easier for people to navigate shops, malls, hospitals or really any building.

The Add-on is sold to app developers on a monthly licensing model. Imagine a mall, for example, offers visitors an app to help them find their way around. Adding Oriient to the app guides them to stores and even shelves that sell particular products.

Using the earth’s magnetic field and sensors in smartphones, the technology can pinpoint a person’s position within three feet. Due to the stability of the magnetic field, it is effective in any building, Oriient CEO and co-founder Mickey Balter said. “With our system retailers can control and influence the shopper in the store, the same way Google maps controls how we drive to work every day,” he explained.

The data produced by the service shows retailers and other businesses exactly how customers move around and where they linger.

Oriient has received more than $2 million in seed funding.