Alice aims to change household shopping habits | Reuters

Through Jessica Wohl

| CHICAGO

CHICAGO a new site desires consumers for you to browse virtual shelves of everything from diapers for you to shampoo, a new transfer that if successful would mark a new significant shift within the means most Americans purchase family products.

The sector faces hurdles heading on the actual internet since goods such as mouthwash tend to be ones folks often require in the hurry and lots of merchandise is bulky or even heavy, meaning substantial delivery costs pertaining to items along with relatively reduced cost tags.

Also, consumers purchase items from several different manufacturers, thus selling immediately via organization websites will be inconvenient.

But founders Brian Wiegand along with Mark McGuire stated his or her site, Alice.com, could help manufacturers maintain their brand name identity while they battle for you to retain thrifty shoppers that are buying much more store-branded goods through retailers li ke target Corp as well as Wal-Mart Retailers Inc.

The categories suppliers are usually in, the worthiness these people can provide in this economy and just how they are already promoting their products from shops tend to be problems companies are thinking about when contemplating whether or even certainly not to sell by means of a lot more on the actual internet channels, mentioned Herb Walter, Consumer Packaged-Goods and retail Advisory partner regarding PricewaterhouseCoopers' Retail Store & Consumer practice.

"It is a viable option, it is one that's being experimented with," said Walter. "At least for the near future it's reached possess a worth label subsequent to always be able to it."



With Alice.com, companies find to become able to set their really own prices as well as receive all of this revenue. hit t elevision display "The Brady Bunch," and also had your sound of your consumer-oriented brand, your founders said.

Alice.com will contend with Drugstore.com, Diapers.com, Amazon.com Inc yet others previously selling many associated with the items it stocks. Jellyfish.com was rebranded as Bing cashback, a services customers can use to conserve lots of cash when they shop online.

The duo compared Alice.com in order to Netflix Inc since the new web site will remind consumers for you to reorder, a lot similar to Netflix sends the next DVD in the customer's queue. And Also working off the buzz involving networking web sites like Facebook and also MySpace, customers could review products as well as tell other people what they buy.



GO ASK ALICE

The identify can be in one approach the nod towards the housekeeper Alice about the 1970s U.S. the site is actually launching using more than 6,000 products for example shampoo, soap, coffee and pet food. Alice.com aims being different by in the particular role of any platform for companies in order to communicate directly along with consumers.

Alice.com provides commitments through five associated with the top ten consumer items companies but would not disclose whether particular players for example Procter & Gamble Co and Unilever have signed up.

"As extended as most of the particular major suppliers are generally going to get powering something such as this, we hope it's heading to be a viable chance to sell more," said Mark McGreevy, director associated with national accounts for Durex Consumer Products.

Durex condoms are available on the website along with via some other on-line retailers, nevertheless similar to be able to most other manufacturers, Durex doesn't sell straight to consumers.

Test customers mentioned they were please d with Alice.com's approach, which in turn permits customers to compare costs quickly.

"They're definitely tapping in to a factor that I feel could perform nevertheless certainly it's going to adopt folks for you to alter his or her approach about how exactly they are generally buying products," said Kristen Chase, an Atlanta-based co-founder regarding CoolMomPicks.com.

Chase along with Erin Doland, editor-in-chief regarding Unclutterer.com, mentioned these people strategy to utilize your service again.

"Alice was better-priced then my food store about virtually all of the products," stated Doland, that lives in the Washington, D.C. area.

For now, Alice.com offers just one distribution center, in Indiana, and also doesn't send goods to Alaska or Hawaii.

(Reporting through Jessica Wohl, editing simply by Matthew Lewis)

. The Actual web site helps make funds simply by giving the firms investing data, ad space along with distributing samples pe rtaining to these to targeted customers.

Manufacturers spend the actual money for website to handle logistics which includes free shipping about all orders, which usually must have no much less than 6 items.



Wiegand stated Alice.com aims to capture 250,000 consumers within the initial year.

This will end up being the fourth partnership for Wiegand and McGuire, whom lately offered Jellyfish.com for you to Microsoft Corp throughout 2007

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