Little Birdie launches e-commerce browser extension to help smaller retailers challenge big competitors

Australian e-commerce platform Little Birdie will today launch a new browser extension it claims will show shoppers the best possible deal, while allowing small retailers to meaningfully compete against their big business rivals.

The new browser extension, available for Safari on Apple mobile devices and Chrome on desktops, generates an on-screen alert when it detects a cheaper deal than the one currently being viewed.

Online shoppers can then click the Little Birdie tab to view the cheaper deal, and graphs showing how the cost of that particular item has changed over time.

Jon Beros, CEO of Little Birdie and former Catch Group general manager, said the new tool is geared towards “intent” shoppers, who already know what they want, compared to “discovery” shoppers, who may use existing deals websites to browse available products.

“It gives you everything in one view, so you don’t have to trawl through hundreds of websites and open hundreds of tabs,” Beros told SmartCompany ahead of launch.

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Little Birdie officially launched in 2021, off the back of a $30 million investment from Commonwealth Bank.

Its debut on the Australian e-commerce market arrived at a high point for online shopping, as lockdown-era shopping habits collided with higher-than-average household savings rates.

But the new tool arrives as broad economic pressures slow discretionary spending.

“There’s definitely been a huge change in the last few years for the macro-economic environment,” Beros said.

“Obviously, we had the COVID period where everything was booming online.

“It kind of went through a bit of a normalisation, and now obviously with the economy things are getting tougher for retailers and consumers.”

A trail run of the browser extension, covering more than 1,000 shoppers, resulted in Australians saving on items spanning washing machines to gym shoes, Beros added.

“We think it’s a great time, when the purse strings are getting a bit tighter for consumers, to make sure that when they buy, they are getting the best prices available.”

Little Birdie says its tool is geared towards retailers, too, offering them an “unbiased” way to reach customers on retail price performance alone.

Beros said the browser extension eschews the model used by Google, where retailers can pay for preferential ad listings when a user browses for sales.

“It really levels the playing field for the smaller retailers out there,” Beros said.

The system is free for shoppers to use, with Little Birdie charging a commission on sales initiated on the platform.

Little Birdie keeps its commission formula close to its chest, but Beros assured businesses it does not operate on a pay-to-play model, which could allow major competitors to ‘earn’ their way to the top of the rankings.

“That commission that we charge has no effect on who is listed, who is shown, or who is prioritised,” he said.

“So essentially, in regards to the retailers, it’s ‘best price wins’ and is ranked accordingly.”

With its new tool, Little Birdie will compete against the likes of Checkmate, an Australian-founded startup that last year launched its own extension which automatically applies coupons and discount codes at checkout.

Beros says his company’s offering provides “value every time you look at a product, even if it’s just confirming that the site you’re looking at does indeed have the best price against the competitor set”.