Implementation Time Estimates for Shopping Comparison Engines

So you are thinking about doing some last minute integration for the holidays?

Or maybe you are just looking to see what it would take to get on board with a shopping comparison engine. That is why I created this quick reference guide. Remember, this is just a guide, not an absolute schedule. This is based on an average depending on your experience - could take more or less time than this. It also depends on where you are heading to. If you are trying to get on Amazon Seller Central, this may take a little bit longer. So here is what you are in for on each channel:

1 hour to set up an account per engine: This includes finding the link to enter in billing information, typing it all in, entering any pre-requisites. Once you have done this 10 times, I am sure the average will go down to 10 minutes.

5 hours to format a feed: Even if you are using a third party solution, you can expect to invest some time here to really understand what is being asked for. You or anyone sending a datafeed for the company should know what is needed, and what the consequences are for not having a shipping rate, for example.

3 hours to transmit the feed and confirm proper transmission: This is the most important and sometimes over looked aspect. You want to make sure the feed is properly being updated. This 3 hour estimate is spread over a couple of days time, to ensure updates are being processed on the engines’ side.

3 hours to trouble shoot initial feed: This is an average, but I truly believe that every new feed will need to be tweaked based on the engine’s requirements. This goes back to the previous 2 steps. Chances are you mis-understood or just plain overlooked something. You definitely want to spend some time in reviewing all categories you have assigned, product names, and pricing. And if you have not spent time assigning categories, then you need to go back to the previous steps.

5 hours for observation and further optimization: This is where a good merchant is separated from the average ones. Review the analytics, product by product. What is the competition doing? Which products are selling? Which products are leading to upsells? What are the differences between this engine and other engines? Are there additional things that can be done like signing up for customer feed back tools? Ask questions, and many of them.
17 hours total, for one shopping comparison engine feed: Remember this is just an estimate, but truly anyone who is looking to simply shoot a product feed out there, I would suggest either waiting until Q1 2008, or get yourself a responsible professional to put this together. You don’t want to spend $500 to sell 3 pairs of iPod headphones.

October 31st, 2007