Seattle startup Point Inside wants to make it easier for shoppers to learn about special offers, daily deals and coupons as they stroll through the mall.

The company that developed smartphone applications to map indoor spaces such as malls, hotels and airports is releasing Point Inside Shopping & Travel 3.0. The Android app takes Point Inside’s indoor mapping technology to the next level for shoppers.

The app brings the deal to the shopper, by allowing consumers to find deals superimposed on maps on their favorite stores in shopping malls and centers.

The app signals the next level of reaching customers with daily deals and other offers.

Point Inside Shopping & Travel 3.0 is “a big leap forward” in how shoppers find deals, said Josh Marti, CEO of Point Inside. He said the idea is to reach the consumer at an opportune time, with some behavioral data such as what stores they prefer their buying habits and location.

Josh Marti

I caught up with Marti and Chief Marketing Officer Todd Sherman to talk about the app and the company, which launched in 2009.

Point Inside’s maps that cover 1,000 malls and shopping centers and 150 airports, where Point Inside helps travelers quickly pinpoint gates, ticket counters, restaurants, rest rooms, taxi stands and other points of interest.

The new app is the latest way Point Inside is building on its indoor mapping technology to connect shoppers with more than a million retailers.

“Our users have told us they really want to see deals for the stores they shop. Now they can,” Sherman said.

Todd Sherman

The initial release is for the Android platform and we’ll be following up with the iPhone and iPad versions in a few weeks. The company also plans a Windows version.

Point Inside also is working to help shoppers drill down inside retail stores and find where items are stocked on individual isles. The Point Inside is using the technology in Meijer stores, a company that has a chain of superstores similar to Fred Meyer in the Midwest.

The service allows shoppers to enter their shopping list and quickly find out where to go within a store.

“If you can get people to where they want to be sooner,they will have more time to buy more things,” Sherman said.

Point Inside is growing. It has 26 full-time employees and about a dozen contractors, with openings for 15 more permanent workers, Marti said.

In August, Point Inside raised $800,000 as part of a $2 million offering from angles and “super angles.”