[uf-discuss] new standard for product information

[Mike Schinkel]

>> So, they typically resort to integration mechanism or other concepts
(retailer-manager store-in-store) they can control and authorize for select
e-retailers they work closely with.

Which is why I think the ideas I have will be a lot like RSS; they are
small, simple, and will really help retailers.  And it doesn't have to be a
manufacturer that maintains the "original"; if they won't, an industry
aggregator can do that.

I guess it's time I start putting my ideas "on paper?"

-Mike 

-----Original Message-----
From: microformats-discuss-bounces at microformats.org
[mailto:microformats-discuss-bounces at microformats.org] On Behalf Of
Guillaume Lebleu
Sent: Thursday, October 12, 2006 4:50 PM
To: Microformats Discuss
Subject: Re: [uf-discuss] new standard for product information

Ted Drake wrote:
> I would thin this standard could be adopted quickly via microformats. 
> What are the thoughts?
>   

I think microformats would probably help adoption with the less
sophisticated (smaller) retailers quickly, but would not satisfy all the
business needs of more sophisticated manufacturers.

More:

Microformats can help for product content that is on the manufacturer's Web
pages. But not all of the product content is on their Web pages, especially
for sophisticated manufacturers. One example is pricing rules, which can be
very complex. See the ARTS data model
http://www.nrf-arts.org/xml_dictionary_5/XMLDictionary-NonMembers.html.

Moreover, having worked on manufactuer/e-retailer collaboration software in
the 90s, my experience is that some, if not most manufacturers are worried
about how they differentiate on the electronic shelf (i.e. the comparison
shopping site), how their brand is represented, and as a result are actually
reluctant to making their Web site content easily scraped, taking the risk
that their content end up in places they don't want to end up. So, they
typically resort to integration mechanism or other concepts
(retailer-manager store-in-store) they can control and authorize for select
e-retailers they work closely with.

Guillaume
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