Do People Want Shopping Bots?
from the how-useful-are-they? dept
An interesting article looking at whether or not people really want to use comparison shopping engines. In many cases, people shopping online are looking to save time, and not money, so the shopping bots aren't all that helpful. Plus, many people seem to do research online, but then do the actual purchase offline. Apparently, only 10% of online shoppers felt the need to use a comparison shopping engine during the holiday season last year. I think it really depends on the product (and how knowledgeable the shopper already is about the product). One of my complaints with shopping engines is that they don't seem to give very much product info. So, if I want to find out all about the product (including reviews) I have to go elsewhere first.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team