TheFind.com is now out of BETA!! Congratulations to everyone who helped test it.

TheFind.com, a comparison shopping engine, is due to make several big announcements tomorrow starting with the addition of four new and innovative shopping features to more methods meant to improve how TheFind discovers and indexes new eCommerce stores or new merchant products.

We have posted about TheFind.com several times in the past, including the exclusive interview we conducted with their CEO, Siva Kumar and their acquisition of the designer fashion site, Glimpse. As one of the youngest CSE’s (about 1 year now), they are quickly becoming one of the most popular shopping destination and product comparison services currently available to consumers.

The recent features added into TheFind shopping search are designed to allow shoppers to engage in a richer, more targeted, shopping experience. The four new features are perfect for anyone looking for products to buy, but would work great for seasonal shoppers too, and come just in time for this years holiday shopping season. Check them out below and let me know what you think!

Our core belief is that our shopping search engine should give consumers access to the full scope of what is available from all the online stores, but without having to sift through hundreds of search results that don’t fit their needs. We’re continually enhancing this process for shoppers – adding new features, search categories and simple ways for them to share their finds with friends and family. Shopping online is supposed to save time and energy, especially around the holidays, and we’re here to make sure that is always the case when it comes to pinpointing the right products from the right store for each shopper.

TheFind.com Mini-Malls:

The first feature to be announced is a Mini-Mall search. It’s a new tabbed navigation that allows users to narrow results by boutiques, department stores, mall stores, major retailers and even marketplace sites like eBay, Shop.com or Amazon.

The Mini-Malls are meant for shoppers looking for distinctive gifts and who need to see products from different resources not typically found on other comparison shopping engines. They also allow shoppers to see what products are available at the major department stores and retail malls. Finally, now consumers can search quickly and easily within a specific group of stores. The Mini-Mall tabs, featured on TheFind results pages, make it easy to sort from group to group with ease.

Example Mini-Mall Results Searches…

• Boutique Search for Cashmere Scarf
• Department Store Search for Cashmere Scarf
• Retail Mall Search for Cashmere Scarf
• Marketplace Search for Cashmere Scarf

TheFind.com Virtual Shopping Districts:

Another part of the tabbed navigation introduced by TheFind is their unique Virtual Shopping Districts. They are tabs that feature results sorting options for trendy shopping destinations like Rodeo Drive or 5th and Madison in New York.

With TheFind’s new virtual destinations you can search and shop some of the hottest districts without ever leaving the comfort of your home and having to make a trip to the district you are interested in shopping at. By bringing these fashion and shopping hot spots directly to consumers across the country more consumers can buy from more exclusive retailers.

TheFind shoppers simply select the Rodeo Drive tab or the 5th and Madison tab and the products from just the retailers that have storefronts in these exclusive districts will instantly be shown within the results.

Example Virtual Shopping District Results Searches…

• Rodeo Drive Search for Cashmere Scarf
• Fifth & Madison Search for Cashmere Scarf

Product Mouse-Hovers Displaying Related Items:

In addition to the Mini-Malls featuring grouped shops and exclusive destinations, TheFind has also bulked up their product mouse-hovers to display much more than just the typical product names, descriptions and prices. The new mouse-hover product pages display related products and other items such as accessories that may accompany what the shopper is already interest in. Not only that, but the mouse-hovers also allow enough space for merchant advertisements, coupons, specials and nearly any other message or promotion the vendor may wish to display. Shoppers need only hover over a product they are interested in with their mouse and they have instant access to a variety of product information, related items and even promotional messages.

In addition, mouse-over page also features links that point directly at the sellers site. So a shopper looking at a purse may possibly see the matching shoes, necklace, earrings and bracelet, as recommended by the merchant. With the new product mouse-hovers, TheFind merchants now have a targeted location, within easy reach for shoppers, to include sale notifications and money-saving coupons.

MyFinds Recent Search and Browsing History:

The new MyFinds enhancement is designed to add personalization with a unique way for shoppers to manage their shopping lists and recent search or product history. Continuing the quest to deliver the simplest, most comprehensive and personalized shopping experience, TheFind.com will now offer even more search personalization within the expanded MyFinds bar capabilities.

There are a couple of different places where shoppers can now access their saved items and even recently viewed or recently searched for products. The MyFinds bar features thumbnails of products shoppers have recently viewed or saved. In addition to the bar at the bottom of every page and a condensed version bar on the home page, TheFind users can click through to view more recently viewed items, recently saved items and even recent search queries.

Users will now have access to and see their recent searches, recently viewed and recently saved items within the MyFinds bar, which helps to serve as a new way for shoppers to bookmark and save their favorite items without doing any work, taking extra steps or the need for several clicks away from the page you were viewing. Shoppers can basically search all they want from the beginning and save items for later just by reviewing their browsing history or saved items. Users can also email MyFinds items to their friends, family or loved ones. The enhanced search and product history feature is an ideal way for shoppers to share products and lists throughout the holidays and on into the new year.

Recent Data Numbers & Bragging Rights:

TheFind.com crawls more than 500,000 stores on the Web to find more than 200 million products across all shopping categories. Its unmatched Web search ability includes access to unique and hard-to-find boutiques, brand stores and hip, must-have products. TheFind.com’s objective approach offers shoppers search results which are ranked by natural popularity, instead of offering results influenced by paid placements.

Conclusion & Final Thoughts:

Wow, what an announcement from TheFind. Are those guys busy or what? I guess we know all of that venture funding is going to good use and I expect the new features to keep rolling out as we end 2007 and begin 2008. I had a chance to personally speak with TheFind’s CEO, Siva Kumar, about this announcement and future company goals. The conversation we had was both insightful and stimulating as I got to hear and participate in some very exciting and ground-breaking news straight from the source.

This is certainly one company to keep your eye on as they continue to break new ground within the comparison shopping space. With these latest feature announcements TheFind continues to set the bar very high for competing CSE’s and other product comparison marketplaces.