Microsoft catches Jellyfish price comparison site

 

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By Simon Aughton

Posted on 3 Oct 2007 at 11:25

Microsoft has again dipped its toes in the waters of online advertising by purchasing Jellyfish.com.

The website lets users compare prices of goods from retailers who pay it fees to promote their products. A share of that revenue is passed on to users who buy from the site, effectively making the goods cheaper.

Jellyfish also runs back-to-front auctions, where goods become cheaper until the supply runs out.

Microsoft has not revealed the terms of the acquisition, which was closed last week. Its public utterings on the deal are confined to a blog post that note that "the technology has some interesting potential applications as we continue to invest heavily in shopping and commerce as a key component ofLive Search".

CEO Steve Ballmer said this week that he expects a quarter of the company's revenue to come from advertising within 10 years and the purchase of Jellyfish coincides with the unveiling of an online version of Office and a retooled Web search. All three operate in areas where market leader Google is well, and lucratively, established.