QuickBuy, a US startup, is hoping to make an electronic version of that vision, with a product that will allow consumers to drag and drop products from a Web page into a computer desktop shopping cart.
The QuickBuy software lets a merchant encode information such as price, description and product number into the product's file, dubbed a Buycon. Consumers can then return to their shopping cart weeks later, and, if they decide to buy it, click on a button and make the purchase -- without having to go back to the store or even start up their browser.
Consumers must enter their credit card data into an electronic wallet, but since that information is stored on their hard drive, they don't have to re-enter it every time they make a purchase. A smaller version of the software runs off of QuickBuy's server, and stores the data there instead of the desktop, to save time for consumers.
E-wallets have been around for a while; Microsoft Corp. and CyberCash both produce them. But they mainly exist to promote secure e-commerce, by allowing merchants to verify transactions. While the ability to store credit card data provides some utility to consumers, they have not taken off with the online shopping public.
Consumers have been extremely reluctant to interrupt their purchases to download software, even if the end result produces a better experience for them.
But QuickBuy is hoping that the shopping cart feature will convince consumers to bite the bullet and download the software.
"It's not a wallet, it's a better shopping experience. A wallet holds your credit card data, and we do that. A shopping cart holds your purchase data and we do that too. We're offering the ability to both," said Gary Miliefsky, QuickBuy CEO.
Consumers can also e-mail the Buycons to one another, to suggest a purchase to a friend, or make a gift suggestion. Forthcoming features will also let them set up "wish list" Web pages, where they drag and drop Buycons that they want someone to buy for them.
The added functionality could be highly appealing to consumers, said Forrester Research analyst James McQuivy. The problem is getting people to realize that they want this feature.
Do I need this?
"It's one of those classic innovations where people don't know they need it until it exists. The Internet shopping experience overall was that way," he said.
If QuickBuy can get some major retailers to begin using the software, or convince browser companies to embed it into software, "they'll own the market," he said.
"It's the classic chicken and egg problem, but if they can get it out there, this will be a significant innovation," he said.
QuickBuy has also signed up partners including Computer Associates International Inc. and Card Service International to help sell the server software to merchants, Miliefsky said.
NetObjects, a maker of e-commerce software, will also announce plans to make its software work with the QuickBuy application.
Builder and Server available
For the merchant, QuickBuy software comes in two varieties: QuickBuy Builder, designed for merchants who want to produce 100 or fewer items, and QuickBuy Server, available later this year, that lets companies tie the software into their backend database and produce Buycons on the fly.
QuickBuy gets a transaction fees for each purchase made, and charges a monthly fee, probably between US$10 and US$30, for hosting the Builder software services. The company will license the Server software, but exact pricing has not been determined.
