• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, November 17, 2011

Spotzot, which powers deals and coupons on mobile shopping apps, such as ShopSavvy, shopkick, CardStar and Geodelic, has secured $2.2 million in first-round funding. Leading the round were Cervin Ventures, Inventus Capital Partners and TiE-Silicon Valley Angles.

Spotzot’s platform aggregates in-store and online promotions from 750 of the largest national and regional U.S. chains that are valid at 400,000 merchant locations.

The company’s targeting technology presents the deals designed to generate the highest click-through rates, based on the user’s location, interests and shopping behaviors. It provides its technology and APIs (application programming interface) to publishers for free. Spotzot makes money by selling sponsorships and ad space around deal listings.

The ads are delivered with deal listings through the APIs used by third-party mobile apps or Web sites. Publishers can configure the deal content--discount pricing, brand, merchant, and location—to suit their needs. Shopkick, for instance, uses the deals information supplied by Spotzot and integrates it with its own rewards system involving redeemable “kicks,” or points toward purchases.

In July, Spotzot struck a deal with ShopSavvy to power deals on its mobile shopping app.

“Spotzot’s APIs made it easy for us to quickly introduce deals into our mobile application, giving us broad control over how we display and target content,” stated Matt Weathers, head of product for ShopSavvy. Shopkick says it has about 2.1 million active users, while ShoppSavvy claims than 10 million unique users.

Spotzot CEO Bobby Jadhav said the company’s technoogy serves two key markets. “We fill a void for publishers by providing a compelling, accurate and dependable source of everyday in-store shopping, grocery and dining offers to attract a broad consumer following, and we allow advertisers to reach millions of consumers with increased relevance.”

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company plans to use the new capital to accelerate development of its deals platform and expand its sales, engineering and operations staff.

A study released Wednesday by mobile ad network InMobi estimates 60 million will shop via mobile phone this holiday season, with nearly a third (31%) using their devices to check updates on sales and promotions. More than a quarter (26%) will research product information and availability via mobile, and 15% will make purchases on their phones.

A separate survey conducted earlier this year by Ipsos OTX and commissioned by Google found that nearly four out of five U.S. smartphone owners use their phones to help with shopping and 70% use their smartphones while in a store.