Newsweek.com and washingtonpost.com launched
Marketplace, an e-commerce solution offering free-form product searches,
browsing through the site’s collection of retailers and access to a directory
of all the major retailers in various categories.
The Marketplace is available here
for washingtonpost.com and here for Newsweek.com.
Current shopping categories include Books, Computer Hardware, Computer
Software, Consumer Electronics, Fashion, Gifts, Movies & Videos, Music, Office
Supplies, Outdoor & Sporting Goods and Toys.
Comparison shopping search results, generated by Junglee’s service, provide
information on the Web merchant that offers the product or service specified,
price and shipping. To buy, shoppers select links that take them directly to
merchant sites.
In the coming weeks, Marketplace will become fully integrated into relevant
content areas of washingtonpost.com and Newsweek.com through contextual e-
commerce links and fixed positions on key section fronts, the company said.
Links will be clearly differentiated from editorial content.
“We expect the e-commerce solutions we are developing to break new ground in
converting a significant percentage of editorial traffic to revenue,” said
Paul Pappajohn, vice president, development
and e-commerce, for Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, the subsidiary of The
Washington Post Company that publishes washingtonpost.com and Newsweek.com.
“It makes sense to leverage our 80-plus million page views and provide
consumers and
advertisers with an integrated e-commerce solution rather than just a stand-
alone Marketplace section.”
washingtonpost.com’s Marketplace service also offers local and national
merchants a “Specials Delivery” e-mail notification option to notify customers
of weekly sales and specials. JCPenney (Washington/Baltimore area) is the
first retailer featured on the service.
Eventually, Marketplace will become a fully integrated shopping solution
featuring local and national merchants, classifieds, yellow pages, and
auctions, the company said. Coupons and supplemental editorial content will be
added to enhance users’ shopping experience