The smart technology would transform shopping in the best direction.
Published:
24 February 1999 y., Wednesday
Letting your "bots" do the walking was supposed to be the Web e-commerce trend of the _90s.
Virtual robots were going to sweep the Internet to help you find everything from shirts to summer homes at the best price and in the best color. The smart technology would so transform shopping it would make consumers the drivers of a new, more efficient economy with lower prices and better service. That was the hype, anyway. So far, bots have been a bust, ranking with push media and 500-channel interactive television as among the least fulfilled promises of the digital revolution. But a wave of new shopping services are in the works that will retool bots and use them as just one piece of a shopping package that includes everything from product reviews to message boards that mention the product. In the year ahead, expect the debut of a growing number of such services, but "The Return of the Bots" will be an entirely different production from the original -- with less ideologicalbanter about consumers winning a technology battle with overpriced merchants, and more efforts to bring the traditional shopping experience online. Infospace.com, which recently went public with great fanfare, is one of the Web companies trying to revive the concept, along with Inktomi Inc., the Internet technology company that runs the search engine for Yahoo! Inc. and others.
The services will link buyers and sellers for 7 to 10 percent of (the product_s total) cost, compared with the 40 to 50 percent that merchandisers usually pay. That is going to be very interesting for the merchant, and it also allows us to save money for the consumer.
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
Software company announced new structure_ of it_s business.
more »
Readers could wave goodbye to carrying around heavy books with one of the portable electronic readers on display at the Frankfurt book fair.
more »
Mobile phone owners in Japan – which means just about everyone – can now dial-a-concert whenever they feel like improving their mood with a tune or two.
more »
Apple cut the price of its entry level laptop, and unveiled a new line of aluminum clad machines.
more »
The latest robots on display in Japan is proving machines may replace their human counterparts. Some are even helping save lives.
more »
The recently launched Lithuania Web Portal www.lietuva.lt has already been visited by the Internet users from ninety states.
more »
The recently launched Lithuania Web Portal www.lietuva.lt has already been visited by the Internet users from ninety states.
more »
Performancecast.tv is releasing their new website for LIVE Online Music Webcasts allowing bands of any stature to broadcast and promote their music world wide. Viewers watching the show can chat with other fans in real time and in some cases chat with the band all in a simple to use format.
more »
GodTuner.com, a recently launched online Christian video-sharing community has been upgraded and is now offering Christians and ministries world-wide the ability to upload and host very high quality videos on their website.
more »
During a five-city tour of EMEA, encompassing Denmark, the UK, Norway, France, and Portugal, Steve Ballmer will meet with customers, partners, business and government leaders.
more »
Wincor Nixdorf AG has acquired a 51 percent interest in Bankberatung AG, which is based in Wedemark near Hanover, Germany.
more »