PriceRunner
Encyclopedia
The website PriceRunner is a price comparison service
launched in Sweden
in 1999, and since bought by ValueClick
. It allows users to compare prices on a range of products. The commercial headquarters are in London
, England
, and it also has offices in Stockholm
, Munich
, Paris
and California
.
based in Sweden
and originally financed by a venture capitalist group called Cell Ventures, who were later acquired by NewMedia Spark. It launched the service in the UK and Denmark
in 2000. Initially, they had planned to become a pan-European service, but some of these services were closed down in 2002 after poor financial performance.
In August 2004, it was acquired by ValueClick
, an online media company, for £16 million ($29 million).
Further expansion saw PriceRunner reopen the French
office in August 2004, go into Germany
in October of the same year, and the US in October 2005.
In 2006, it announced that it would launch a partnership service with 118 118
, a UK phone based service, to provide prices to people by SMS. This followed an earlier failure to enter the mobile market in 2002 by providing price tracking through the site. In October, MSN announced that their Shopping sites in France and the UK would be powered by PriceRunner and Shopping.com. They had previously been powered by Kelkoo
.
In 2007-8 PriceRunner also set up partnerships with Ask, the Energy Saving Trust
, MSN
and Which?
providing them with shopping engines for their websites.
automatching system and manually by admin staff.
model. It also uses web banners provided by sister company, advertising network ValueClick Media.
Price comparison service
On the internet, a price comparison service allows individuals to see different lists of prices for specific products. Most price comparison services do not sell products themselves, but source prices from retailers from whom users can buy...
launched in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in 1999, and since bought by ValueClick
ValueClick
ValueClick is a Westlake Village, CA-based online advertising company, which provides online advertising campaigns and programs for advertisers and advertising agency customers in the United States and internationally....
. It allows users to compare prices on a range of products. The commercial headquarters are in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and it also has offices in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
History
PriceRunner was launched in 1999 as a price comparison servicePrice comparison service
On the internet, a price comparison service allows individuals to see different lists of prices for specific products. Most price comparison services do not sell products themselves, but source prices from retailers from whom users can buy...
based in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and originally financed by a venture capitalist group called Cell Ventures, who were later acquired by NewMedia Spark. It launched the service in the UK and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in 2000. Initially, they had planned to become a pan-European service, but some of these services were closed down in 2002 after poor financial performance.
In August 2004, it was acquired by ValueClick
ValueClick
ValueClick is a Westlake Village, CA-based online advertising company, which provides online advertising campaigns and programs for advertisers and advertising agency customers in the United States and internationally....
, an online media company, for £16 million ($29 million).
Further expansion saw PriceRunner reopen the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
office in August 2004, go into Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in October of the same year, and the US in October 2005.
In 2006, it announced that it would launch a partnership service with 118 118
118 118 (UK)
118 118 is a UK directory enquiries provider based in Cardiff that assists customers with telephone number enquiries and general queries.The service is provided by The Number UK Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of US directory enquiries provider Knowledge Generation Bureau , whose company motto is...
, a UK phone based service, to provide prices to people by SMS. This followed an earlier failure to enter the mobile market in 2002 by providing price tracking through the site. In October, MSN announced that their Shopping sites in France and the UK would be powered by PriceRunner and Shopping.com. They had previously been powered by Kelkoo
Kelkoo
The website Kelkoo is a European price comparison service founded in France in 1999, allowing customers to find information on products they want to purchase, including price and seller information. It was bought by Yahoo! in 2004...
.
In 2007-8 PriceRunner also set up partnerships with Ask, the Energy Saving Trust
Energy Saving Trust
Energy Saving Trust is a non-profit organisation jointly funded by the British Government and the private sector in order to help fight climate change by promoting the sustainable use of energy, energy conservation and to cut carbon dioxide emissions in the United Kingdom.-Background:The Energy...
, MSN
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
and Which?
Which?
Which? is a product-testing and consumer campaigning charity with a magazine, website and various other services run by Which? Ltd ....
providing them with shopping engines for their websites.
Technology
PriceRunner uses a combination of screen scraping retailers' websites and files supplied by the retailers themselves. These prices are matched against a backend database. This is done both by using a fuzzy logicFuzzy logic
Fuzzy logic is a form of many-valued logic; it deals with reasoning that is approximate rather than fixed and exact. In contrast with traditional logic theory, where binary sets have two-valued logic: true or false, fuzzy logic variables may have a truth value that ranges in degree between 0 and 1...
automatching system and manually by admin staff.
Business model
PriceRunner is similar to other price comparison services in that it is financed by advertisers, who pay on a pay per clickPay per click
Pay per click is an Internet advertising model used to direct traffic to websites, where advertisers pay the publisher when the ad is clicked. With search engines, advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases relevant to their target market...
model. It also uses web banners provided by sister company, advertising network ValueClick Media.