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October 10 2008
Now everyone can display competitors' pricing on their product pages
Last month Norwich Union announced it would be showing competitors' pricing on its website. Now Israeli firm Winbuyer is offering all UK retailers a way to display the prices being charged by their competitors on any or all of their product pages. So is this the future of online retailing? Or is it just plain bonkers?
Israeli firm WinBuyer has launched a service that allows internet retailers to display accurate and reliable competitive pricing information on their product pages. The system allows shoppers to see at a glance what price other retailers charge for a particular product, whether it is in stock, how long delivery will take and how much postage and packaging will cost.
Usually the competitive pricing information is displayed in a box below the retailer's own product information but it can be placed in different locations and the location and size of the box can change dependent on, for instance, whether a retailer has the item in stock or not.
The idea, of course, is that consumers are going to check out the prices charged by other retailers anyway. By displaying competitive information, you are creating extra trust and goodwill and you should only be losing out on sales you would never have got anyway. Well, that's the idea.
Winbuyer doesn't make a charge for using the system. Instead it sets up all the competitive prices as affiliate links and splits the revenues on a 'one third for WinBuyer, two thirds for you' basis with the retailer — so you get some revenue even if you don't make the sale.
"Online shoppers often make purchase decisions based on price comparisons," explained Dan Clarke, the firm's chairman. "With WinBuyer’s technology it is now easy for any merchant, regardless of size, to deploy precise competitive pricing information on their site, positioning core products as the low cost leader, turning browsers into buyers, and generating click-through revenue.”
Here's how it works:
WinBuyer’s competitive pricing engine integrates seamlessly into an etailer’s site, helping consumers make more informed choices and speeding the buying decision. Its Commerce Information Extraction (CIE) algorithm delivers competitive product and price information in real-time, increasing consumer confidence and speed to sale. This sophisticated data aggregator analyzes any single product page on a merchant’s site and creates precise product matches, providing merchants with a list of competitors who sell the exact same product for higher prices.
Virtually any merchant regardless of size can deploy WinBuyer’s Commerce Information Extraction (CIE) technology with minimal effort, and many notable retailers have joined the Partners Program since its US launch in June, including Secondact.com, 42photo.com, and Gamequestdirect.com.
The service provides:
- Simple “copy and paste” implementation of the WinBuyer JavaScript, eliminating the need to create unique feeds into the ecommerce site
- Display of competitive pricing information in real-time, using a custom look and feel
- Ability to control the user experience, displaying as many or as few competitors as they like per product
- Clear, concise reporting with conversion and click-through rates generated in real-time, and revenue reports available in 48 hours or less
So, is WinBuyer a ground breaking new technology that will change the game for ever? Or would you be mad to take part? Leave a comment below and, if you'd like to give it a try, mention Internet Retailing and WinBuyer will waive the standard integration fee so you can give it a try for free.
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