I’d like to think that all my nagging had something to do with it, but I have a feeling the new management team at Shopping.com recognized early this year that not all was right for merchants submitting products to the shopping engine. Because of this, Shopping.com is announcing a slew of programs for Q4 to help merchants sell more effectively on Shopping.com.

The press release highlights:
-Value Based Pricing - addressing some concerns over its syndication partners, Shopping.com seems to realize that not all clicks are created equal. Merchants will be charged different CPC rates based on a number of factors including the quality of the leads they are being sent. I have some concerns about the transparency of the program and the inability for merchants to opt out of the ‘content’ network, but I’m encouraged by this step. Here’s what Shopping.com is sharing with its partners

-SKU Level Bidding - FINALLY. After getting the party line for the last 2 years that merchants aren’t ready for SKU Level Bidding or that it’s on ‘the list’, Shopping.com is moving forward with this program. Merchants will actually be able to move beyond the category level and optimize individual SKUs. After harping on this point for about 2.5yrs, it’s odd to think that this is actually going to happen. Thank you, Shopping.com.

There are a number of details about these programs which I discussed with Alisa, Tomer, and Dariana last night, but I’m actually not sure what was on or off the record, so I’m going to hold off for now discussing specifics.

I think these moves show that Shopping.com actually wants to improve its relationship with its merchants. I can’t remember the last time I associated such a thought with Shopping.com. Have we reached a detente in this chilly relationship which started years ago?

There were two other ‘innovations’ highlighted in the press release:
-shopping cart program - now connected with eBay Express
-distributed commerce program - monetize the 99% of your traffic that doesn’t convert

I’ve covered both of these programs before to some extent, so I’ll let eTail dTail or CSE Strategies pick up my slack…will probably re-visit soon.

Previous Posts
-SKU Level Bidding - June 5, 2006
-JP Werlin’s comments on SKU Level Bidding - June 6, 2006
-Impending Ecommerce Doom - September 4, 2007
-Shopping Engines, Beware of Google Checkout - July 6, 2007