March 08, 2010
By the ZippyCart Ecommerce Software Content Team
Although the product is still considered in beta, InvisibleHand is quickly becoming a go-to tool for deal hunters who have typically used comparison shopping engines (CSE) to find the best price. Online bargain shoppers only need to install the web browser add-on for Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome, then consumers will get a similar CSE experience wherever they shop on the web. When you visit a product page with the InvisibleHand add-on installed, you get a simple notification if that product is cheaper at a different ecommerce site. Then the deal hunter is presented with the link to that product at a competing ecommerce site, so they can review the best online price. Now there is almost no need to check a CSE, because the InvisibleHand does all the work for you while you browse among the top products you want to purchase. Currently the service is only available in the U.S., U.K., and Germany, but is expected to continue to expand by adding more retailers, products, and possibly countries.
The InvisibleHand name comes from economist Adam Smith’s theory, that suggests people will make rational economic decisions when they have perfect information available to review. This is true today, and is a big reason why online shopping at ecommerce sites has become so popular over the last decade. Consumers have all the information they could every need about any product they want to purchase, they just have to take the time to read and review all of the data. At least they how have the InvisibleHand to help out, and make one part of the online shopping process a bit easier by quickly finding the lowest price. Think of InvisibleHand as your super smart shopping assistant, who only has to jump in and help when there is an opportunity to save you money on the next product you purchase online.
Amy is the co-founder of ZippyCart. She went to school for film in Cleveland, Ohio and ended up working in the field of viral video marketing, which eventually led her to her real profession: SEO. When she's not writing for ZippyCart, she can be found out and about Seattle, WA.
