Pushing the concept of frictionless commerce, Lycos Inc. Monday unveiled its comparison shopper and bought a stake in the co-developer, a shopping service company named for the new buzzword.
The two companies have created LYCOShop Product Comparison Service, which will offer comparison shopping in more than 150 product categories. The portal player has taken an equity stake in Frictionless Commerce Inc. for an undisclosed amount.
Lycos Inc. (LCOS) claims its service is the most comprehensive and value-based on the market, with searches powered by the Frictionless Value-Comparison Engine, which allows users to locate and compare products by price, description, and other merchant feature criteria.
With the holiday cash register in mind, Lycos has also added various shipping options and promotions. Lycos says that the process mimics all aspects of the real-world shopping experience, including help for advice seekers and need evaluations for many products. The actual purchase can be made from several vendors in one specific online location.
“LYCOShop is built to provide all the elements of traditional shopping in an online environment,” said Jeff Bennett, vice president and general manager of electronic commerce at Lycos.
“The integration of more than 150 categories of comparison shopping from Frictionless Commerce not only replicates the ability to ask for help from knowledgeable friends, but also uses the power of the Internet to provide more information faster and easier than is possible offline.”
Lycos Monday also announced a deal with auction company Skinner to develop an auction site with live bidding.