Apr 09 2008
Online Shopping Malls
A couple of years ago, I have registered a Romanian domain name, e-shopcenter.ro, which I planned and still plan to develop as a virtual mall. The idea is quite popular these days. The 2 basic issues such a platform has to deal with would be shopping comparison between not 2, but many many shop owners, which would probably offer the same products at varying prices. The other issue would be a global shopping cart, so that people can buy simultaneously from different providers. Just like in a real mall.
Therefor, I started to research into shopping comparison, to see how others have designed their user interfaces and their way to compare different online shopping stores. This is how I found Digxa. I stumbled upon their electronics category, and started to gather information.
At first, the category was empty, but upon selecting an inline category of electronics (camcorder accessories), the search narrowed, and the next step was me selecting a price range. Then I selected the brand I like most, and then the specific thing I was looking for. And I came up with 2 lens filters priced around 35$.
I spent 40 seconds in the process, a lot less than any other online store I have seen, and less than I would have spent in a real store asking an employer about my Canon 35$ priced lens filters.
Great website. Extraordinary experience!
Cheers!
