Yahoo Inc. has redesigned Yahoo Shopping, giving it a fresh new look to make it easier for consumers to quickly find and compare products, and adding a new Bargains Center which aggregates sales, coupons, free shipping offers, rebates and more from across the Internet.
Yahoo Shopping has also integrated Yahoo Answers to allow the shopping community to interact and seek advice of other online shoppers.
“We conduct a variety of research studies with consumers,” said Chris Saito, senior director of product management at Yahoo Shopping, Sunnyvale, CA. ” One study that is particularly useful involves bringing shoppers into our lab with a shopping list and watching them research and buy online.
“We also test new designs and conduct surveys with millions of users on our live Web site,” he said. “Together this helps us understand what works and what we can improve. One area that there was a lot of interest in was getting a good deal with coupons and free shipping.”
Yahoo Shopping integrated coupons, rebates and free shipping throughout its new design in addition to making it easier to compare prices with thousands of online merchants.
Through its research, Yahoo found that 60 percent of Yahoo Shopping users consider themselves bargain hunters.
The Bargains Center is a one-stop shop where users can easily find sales, coupons, free shipping offers and rebates.
“For shopping search, we’ve made the interface clean and intuitive starting at our home page and on our search results pages,” Mr. Saito said. “Yahoo Answers integration combined with our expert buying guides helps users make informed buying decisions. For bargains, we know that users want to easily be able to find coupons.”
So what’s so different about the new site?
— New clean look: The home page, product category pages, and search results have been streamlined to improve search and navigation while integrating Yahoo Answers, Bargains and the Yahoo Shopping blog.
— Popular products and deals: A list of popular products and deals available on the Shopping home page, which can also be added to a personalized My Yahoo page for daily updates on deals.
— Personalization: In addition to the My Yahoo Popular Products & Deals, shoppers can easily access their recent searches and saved products from the new Yahoo Shopping home page.
— Expert buying guides: Buying guides that feature professional reviews from Consumer Reports and other leading publications have been integrated into the shopping experience to help people research and buy the right product.
— New holiday gift guide: Features advice on how to choose great gifts for the holiday season including top 10 lists to help consumers pick the right gifts for family and friends.
