MSN Shopping Press Coverage
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/index.php?p=2605CMP TechWeb.com (11/11/2005): Microsoft Updates MSN Shopping
MediaPost (11/11/2005): PriceGrabber Adds Travel Vertical
WebProNews.com (11/11/2005): MSN Supports Lazy Shoppers
Host Review (11/11/2005): MSN Launches New Shopping
YahooNews.com (11/11/2005): Microsoft Updates MSN Shopping
YahooFinance.com (11/11/2005): New and Improved MSN Shopping Launches Right on Time to Give Shoppers Relief this Holiday
Addict3.org (11/11/2005): Microsoft Updates MSN Shopping
SearchEngineWatch (11/11/2005): MSN Shopping Adds Search Refinements for Hundreds of Product Categories
TechWhackNews.com (11/13/2005): Microsoft brings new features to MSN Shopping
Search Engine Journal (11/14/2005): Holiday Shopping at Yahoo, MSN, Shopzilla and Smarter
Seattle Times (11/14/2005): Who says quitters never win?
DMNews.com (11/14/2005): MSN Shopping Adds Comparison Shopping
SearchEngineWatch (11/18/2005): New MSN Search "Fast Answer" Offers Results from MSN Shopping on
HardwareZone.com (11/14/2005): New and Improved MSN Shopping Launches Right on Time
Retail Week (11/18): MSN Shopping adds price comparisons
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Microsoft's shopping portal MSN Shopping has added price comparison tools to its web site, piling pressure on US online retailers to be more cost competitive.
The internet giant has collaborated with established price comparison players PriceGrabber.com and Shopping.com to allow consumers to view the prices and features of thousands of products across several stores. For example, a search for the latest iPod nano brings up a list of sellers with prices ranging from US$240 to US$260 (£140 to £150).
The tie-up has resulted in a seven-fold increase in the number of retailers and a 35-fold increase in the products featured on the site.
MSN general manager Jim Barr said: "MSN has ramped up our commitment to online retailing. We've built new, powerful tools to make it quick, easy and fun for shoppers to find what they're looking for."
Retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart, as well as smaller independent stores, pay MSN Shopping a fee to appear on the site. It features a newsletter, consumer reports and editor's picks. MSN averages about 440 million unique worldwide users per month.
Webpronews.com (11/23/2005): MSN Adds Instant Answers to Shopping
PR Newswire (11/29): Holiday Gift Buyers Drive Record Traffic on MSN Shopping
WebWire (11/29): Cedric the Entertainer and MSN Shopping Declare National "Shopping in your Undies" Day in New York's Times Square
Asbury Park Press (11/29): Price-comparison sites make online shopping easy
Web Pro News (11/30): An Online Christmas Carol: Part III
ClickZ News Blog (12/2): MSN Promos Shopping With Boxers, Not Briefs
Noticias.info - Spain (12/2): MICROSOFT: Holiday Gift Buyers Drive Record Traffic on MSN ...
Web Hosting Directory (12/2): Microsoft's MSN Shopping eCommerce Search Engine Sets Records
Internet Ad Sales (12/2): Holiday Gift Buyers Drive Record Traffic on MSN Shopping
Bolsamania.com (12/2): (PRN) - Holiday Gift Buyers Drive Record Traffic on MSN Shopping
UrbanMecca.com (12/2): Cedric the Entertainer and MSN Shopping Declare National Shop in Your Undies Day
SearchEngineWatch (12/3): Millions of eBay Items Now Searchable on MSN Shopping
Search Engine Journal (12/3): MSN Shopping Indexes eBay Items
Search Engines (12/3): Millions of eBay items now searchable on MSN Shopping
iMedia Connection (12/8): Enticing the Online Consumer
The Virginian-Pilot (12/14): Bots can help you comparison-shop online
By CAROLYN SHAPIRO
If you plan to buy gifts online this holiday season, you’re probably going to get to know at least one shopping bot.
Shopping bots are retail-comparison Web sites that help consumers sort through various Internet options to find a particular item – from an iPod music player to a pair of Ugg winter boots.
Bots allow the user to search by category (electronics), type of item (portable music player) or specific item (iPod). They then provide a list – often but not always with the lowest price first – of various merchants that have the item available, but shopping bots aren’t always financially unfettered in their findings. Some have retail clients who pay for top spots. Some sites will order results with “featured listings” or “our picks” first.
“Chances are, those are sort of like a maitre d’ trying to get you to order the specials in a restaurant,” said Beau Brendler, director of Consumer Reports WebWatch, which investigates online activity for the magazine that does product testing and provides consumer information. Shoppers should seek Web sites that search fairly and openly and disclose their relationships with retail advertisers, Brendler said. They can click on the “About Us” link on a site to check the company’s policies and business practices.
MSN Shopping, the Microsoft network’s bot, collects fees from its advertisers for placement, said Karen Reed, lead category manager for MSN Shopping. However, for consumer searches, it casts a wide net on the Net beyond its own client list, she added.
Users can sort their MSN Shopping lists by price, popularity or store, Reed said. Procrastination Central, a new MSN bot, caters to last-minute shoppers by searching among the company’s retail partners and listing their deadlines for ordering in time for Christmas.
Brendler mentioned Shopping.com, mySimon, Froogle and Yahoo! Shopping as tested and trustworthy bots. Others include Shopzilla, SortPrice.com, Become.com, SquareTrade SideB ar, PriceGrabber.com and Deals.com.
Plenty of great finds at low prices are available on the Internet, but Brendler encourages consumers to keep a healthy degree of skepticism.
A top-rated plasma TV for $299? “Deals that look too good to be true usually are,” he said.
In its latest issue, Consumer Reports offers several tips for bot users:
Use more than one site and do your own searches. None the magazine found had the lowest prices all the time. Also try retailers’ Web sites.
Look for disclosures that reveal the operator’s relationship with advertisers and methods for ordering searches.
Make sure that price comparisons include shipping, taxes and any other fees. Some prices look low but leave out the extras until you buy. Most sites let you type in your ZIP code to see a total tab.
Look for sites that let you click a button to order the results the way you want them – possibly by price or store or brand.
Watch to see if the lowest prices are for used goods, which could be “reconditioned” or “refurbished.”
Stocking Stuffer runs Wednesdays during the holiday shopping season.
Reach Carolyn Shapiro at (757) 446-2270 or carolyn.shapiro@pilotonline.com.
