Next Generation Shopping

Yesterday Frucall announced that it now allows users to compare prices from a mobile phone drawing information from both Amazon and Yahoo! Shopping.

“Shoppers who are not at a computer can call 1-888-DO-FRUCALL (888-378-7467) and type in or read the product’s barcode. Frucall will search the product on both Yahoo! Shopping and Amazon, and will give users the three best advertised prices. Shoppers use a voice menu to “bookmark'’ items, leave themselves voice notes for later reference, listen to customer ratings, and soon purchase the product from an online vendor. Shoppers can register at http://www.frucall.com to personalize their Frucall experience and access more valuable features.”

I knew that it was only a matter of time before a service like this was established. It is a great usage of the data and web services from by Amazon and Yahoo! Shopping. Only time will tell if phsyical retail shoppers adapt to it. I have yet to test this service, so a followup will come shortly. In the meantime, read the full article here.

Technorati Tags: amazon api, yahoo shopping, frucall, m-commerce, mobile shopping

Yahoo! has launched a new portal at tech.yahoo.com. It is aimed to be an informational portal site more then a comparison engine and draws from a variety of sources… For this reason I would classify it as a mashup.

From E-Commerce Times

“The site will contain both original and licensed third-party content and community-based features such as product reviews. It will also fold in shopping and personalization features from Yahoo’s shopping network.”

It mashes together content from a variety of professional publishers’ sources…

“Licensed content on the site will include information from Consumer Reports that was previously available only through that publication’s paid Web site, and content from Wiley Publishing, which produces the “For Dummies” line of books, with excerpts made available on the Tech site. Yahoo’s other content partners include PC World, CNET and PC Magazine.”

Search Engine Journal writer Wendy Boswell reports that the new Tech site is running on the Yahoo! Shopping API. She gathered this information directly from the Yahoo! PR team.

I believe Its a great way to show the power and exposure of Yahoo! Shopping web services. Although, I am not really sure it is necessary since they have all the information in their own database. Anyway, you can really see how the Yahoo! community, Yahoo! Answers, Yahoo! Shopping, and external sources can all be tied together in a concise and informative manner.

Sources:

• Yahoo Launches Consumer Tech Info Site, E-Commerce Times
• Shopping Search API’s on Yahoo Tech, Search Engine Journal

Technorati Tags: Yahoo! Shopping, web services, shopping api

Although Yahoo! Shopping is just in Beta, it is important for those just getting into the E-Commerce Revenue Share game to look at who is offering a better opportunity to earn cash. Revenue Share partnerships are now available for both the Shopping.com Web Services and Yahoo! Shopping Web Services (beta). So how much will you be paid? It all depends on your agreement with them, how much traffic you can drive, and a few other factors.

To begin I would suggest looking at the merchant rate cards. The merchant rate cards can help give you an idea of who pays out more on a category basis. So if you are thinking of creating a niche site, lets say Flowers, it might be a better option to consider Yahoo! as they offer a higher rate.

Yahoo! Shopping vs Shopping.com Merchant Rates
Yahoo! Shopping Merchant Rate Card
Shopping.com Merchant Rate Card*

* It is important to note that Shopping.com has a bidding engine, meaning the rates you see on the rate card are a minimum, allowing you to potentially generate a significant amount more. Yahoo! Shopping rates are static for all merchants.

While some Yahoo! rates are higher than Shopping.com the average Shopping.com rate is higher. So from a partner / affiliate perspective you have the potential to generate more revenue from partnering with Shopping.com. Of course, that depends on the amount revenue share percentage you agree upon. For starters it is 50% for Shopping.com, and Yahoo! is currently variable as it is in beta.

For further reading, see my previous post about the different shopping comparison engine partner/affiliate offerings.

Technorati Tags: Yahoo!, Shopping.com, web services, shopping, e-commerce, shopping comparison, revenue share

Ok, it is official, a lot of things happened today. Yahoo! has finally added the incentive of revenue sharing to their API (so look out Shopping.com!). While this is a huge win for them, apparently they are not integrating the affiliate program into Yahoo! Shopping for a few months. So I will followup on how the program will work and find out what kind of payment structure they have for it.
Straight from Yahoo!

“Yahoo! is now accepting applications for a commercial version of our Shopping APIs featuring product search, price comparison, ratings & reviews, and shopping browse. The program, which is now in limited beta, is similar to an affiliate model in that it enables websites to share in income generated from providing shopping search and other services powered by Yahoo! Shopping on their sites. Whether you are building a local shopping mash-up, a next generation social commerce destination, or you simply want to integrate shopping comparison features into your content site, this program is a first major step in providing you with tools to help you generate revenue.”

Also, note that it is in beta and currently it is only “accepting a small number of applicants with special consideration given to sites with high traffic volume and fresh, unique content”.

Currently, our site SecretPrices.com utilizes the Shopping.com API as a backend. But close tabs will be kept on the Yahoo! Shopping program as it continues to evolve. The API is not only fairly well documented, but has an open developer community to back it. Shopping.com really needs to start paying attention…

Technorati Tags: Yahoo!, revenue share, comparison shopping, API, mashups