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Shopping the CompuServe Way

Blow dough or just window shop in an online mall bearing a familiar name.

By JoAnne Robb, PCWorld   

Internet shopping is big. After all, it's tough to resist the hours and the convenience: If you have the urge, you can go shopping in your pajamas at two in the morning. In fact, according to James McQuivey, an analyst at Forrester Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, shoppers will have spent at least $8 billion online by the end of 1998--and they'll probably spend double that amount in 1999. No wonder, then, that shopping services abound.

CompuServe has jumped on the bandwagon with it Shopping Channel, available at GO SHOPPING or on the Web at www.compuserve.com/shopping. This service is much more than an Internet "mall"--a series of links to other shopping locations. Sure, like most shopping channels, it offers several different categories--16 to be exact--in which you can browse for good buys. These range from Computing Products and Electronics & Video to Flowers, Cards & Candy and Books & Music. When you click on a category, you move to online stores that provide products in that area.

But CompuServe's service does more than direct you to a good store. It also offers a series of services--mainly for CompuServe members--to make it easier to pick the perfect gift. For example, the front page of the Shopping Channel features an electronic catalog focused on a seasonally appropriate theme; the current one is Tailgate Party.

Other services can be helpful at any time of year. If you enter a person's name into the GiftMinder service, for example, you'll receive an e-mail that not only reminds you to buy a birthday gift but also makes suggestions based on the information you initially entered. The SmartConsumer service offers members a series of articles that provide information on all sorts of helpful topics, from budgeting to where to find the best shipping rates to advice on buying culturally appropriate gifts for clients in other countries. And if you can't think of the right gift, you can send an e-mail to the Gift Concierge; you'll get a return e-mail suggesting a perfect present.

Why would CompuServe members use this shopping channel rather than going out onto the Internet and doing their own sleuthing? If you don't like the process of searching around for just the right thing, CompuServe certainly makes shopping a lot easier. What's more, if you hesitate to hand out your credit card number on the Web, you'll probably feel better using CompuServe's Shopping Channel: The company has certified each of its business partners, so you have a guarantee on the level of safety and service you'll get.