Web Design & Development Guide
Shop bot
Shop Bots, also commonly called buyer agents, are sophisticated autonomous software agents that comb the internet providing users with low product prices and/or product recommendations. Most commonly used for commodity type products where competitor differentiation is limited to price, shopping bots are also used by many internet vendors to promote impulse purchases by recommending similar goods.
Although heavily relied on by many internet consumers, shopping bots are not always concerned with the best interests of their users. The majority of shopping bots operate for profit and work in conjunction with numerous internet merchants advertising their products and specials when certain key terms are searched. Either charging advertising/listing fees or charging click through fees, shopping bots make their revenue directing consumers to internet vendors. However, some internet retailers employ their own shopping bots that use collaborative filtering technologies to recommend goods and services to users through identifying purchasing trends.
Shopping Bot Links
Please note the following shopping bots may or may not operate for profit and/or work in conjunction with other internet vendors.
- http://www.activebuyersguide.com/ABG/clients/ABG/home.jsp
- http://www.allbookstores.com/
- http://www.bestwebbuys.com/books/
- http://www.bizrate.com/
- http://www1.bottomdollar.com/
- http://www.CheapestBookPrice.com/
- http://www.CheapestCDprice.com/
- http://www.CheapestDVDprice.com/
- http://www.CheapestTextbooks.com/
- http://www.shop4offers.co.uk/
- http://www.shopbot.ca/
- http://www.shopbot.com.au/
- http://www.shopbot.com.br/
- http://www.shopbot.co.nz/
- http://shopper.cnet.com/
- http://www.shoppingbots.info/
- Sprice - Shopbot dedicated to the travel market in europe and asia
References
Haag, Cummings, McCubbrey, Pinsonneult, and Donovan. (2006). Information Management Systems, For The Information Age. ?Buyer Agents?. McGraw-Hill Ryerson.
Mulrean, Jennifer. How shopping bots really work. Retrieved June 14, 2006, from: http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Savinganddebt/Finddealsonline/P36484.asp
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