Froogle has brought a consumer-friendly approach to online shopping, whereas if marketers want the sale, they must lower their online price to beat their competitors in the "low to high" listing feature. These lowest-price bidding wars are currently happpening in several keyword areas that I monitor. This is opposed to the typical eBay-style auction, whereas it is the consumers who must bid their highest price. Online stores have many advantages over eBay, the most obvious of which is not worrying about sniping and much less overall hassle, and this is a huge boon for consumers if it continues to work out. Google has been sprucing up their search engine for the holidays, and even advertising on their home page. Without holding my breath, this has the possibility of being a big turnaround, especially in market areas not covered by Amazon (however few those are).
