Yahoo! goes shopping
- — 10 November, 1999 21:49
Nearly one year out from a similar launch in North America, Yahoo! Australia and New Zealand has introduced its own local shopping site.
Located at http://shopping.yahoo.com.au, Yahoo! Shopping Australia and New Zealand offers customers the ability to shop at several different retailers from the one Web site.
Tony Faure, general manager of Yahoo! Australia and New Zealand said close to 25 retailers had partnered with Yahoo! to offer more than 30,000 different products online. Faure said he expects over 30 retailers to be onboard by Christmas.
While some retailers have already established an online presence, others, including Just Jeans and the Body Shop, are creating an online brand through the Yahoo! portal, Faure said.
Retailers partnering with Yahoo! include Just Jeans, the Body Shop, Oxford Shop, Angus & Robertson, Dymocks, Dick Smith, Tandy, Strathfield Car Radios, Folkways Music, E*Store, Roses Only, Shop On and Dinosaur Designs. Others expecting to join in coming weeks include ABC Shop, Theo's Chandlers and the Sock Shop.
"We are facilitating the transaction, Yahoo! is not a retailer," Faure said.
According to Faure, merchants appearing on the Yahoo! site will be charged a hosting fee and will have to share a percentage of each successful transaction with Yahoo!
Faure said it was "likely" Yahoo! would offer special discounts and offers for customers choosing to buy from the Yahoo! site rather than direct from the merchant, but offers will be on a merchant by merchant case.
The main attractions for customers to the shopping site will be the convenience of multiple brands and multiple products, and the single checkout and purchase process, he said.
