Frictionless Commerce Inc. unveiled a comparison-shopping service that
enables individuals to search, compare and purchase products “based on the
merchant and product features they value most.”
The company said the service brings a simple, iterative process to the online
commerce of complex offerings. Frictionless Commerce markets its technology
as a private-label service to high-traffic Web sites.
Using the company’s first product, the Frictionless Value-Comparison Engine,
commerce sites are able to offer their customers a quick, easy and
individualized comparison-shopping environment, and can provide their merchants with a forum
to showcase their value-added services, Frictionless said.
A Beta version of Frictionless’ technology is available now at the Frictionless site.
Lycos already has signed on for the service.
“Our goal is to utilize the unique advantages of the Internet to provide the
most valuable shopping experience on the Web,” said Jeff Bennett, vice
president of electronic commerce at Lycos. “We will integrate Frictionless’
technology into our shopping service so that consumers can quickly and easily
find the product or service that most closely satisfies their individual
needs.”
Based on more than three years of research in the Media Lab at MIT, the
Frictionless Value-Comparison Engine marks a shift in online shopping,
expanding Web commerce to more than just price comparisons, the company said.
Unlike traditional price-based e-commerce shopping bots, Frictionless
Commerce said it supplies consumers with product rankings and then guides the
consumer through the analysis of each choice to help them select the offering
that best satisfies their individual needs.
“The process of comparing is a fundamental aspect of shopping.
Comparison-shopping on the Web today, however, is very difficult,” said
Alexander F. Kleiner, III, president of Frictionless Commerce. “By private
labeling our services we make it quick and painless for e-commerce sites
to become vibrant comparison-shopping marketplaces.”