Alice aims to change household shopping habits | Reuters

Through Jessica Wohl

| CHICAGO

CHICAGO A New new site desires consumers in order to browse virtual shelves of everything from diapers for you to shampoo, any move which if effective would mark a new main shift within the method most Americans purchase household products.



The sector faces hurdles heading on the internet since items like mouthwash are generally ones people often want in a hurry and lots of backpacks are cumbersome or even heavy, meaning high delivery expenses regarding items along with relatively lower cost tags.

Also, shoppers acquire item s from the 3 major different manufacturers, thus offering directly from business sites could be inconvenient.

But founders Brian Wiegand and also Mark McGuire stated their particular site, Alice.com, could help producers maintain his or her manufacturer identity because they battle in order to retain thrifty consumers who're getting more store-branded goods coming from suppliers like Goal Corp along with Wal-Mart Retailers Inc.

The classes manufacturers tend to be in, the worth they can provide in this economy and the way they're currently offering their goods in shops are usually problems companies are seeking at when considering whether to offer by means of more on the particular internet channels, said Herb Walter, Consumer Packaged-Goods and also retail Advisory Companion involving PricewaterhouseCoopers' Store & Consumer practice.

"It is really a viable option, it is a that is getting experimented with," stated Walter. "At least for your near future it's go t to possess a value label next to be able to it."

With Alice.com, companies get to set their own costs as well as receive just about all of the revenue. hit television show "The Brady Bunch," and had your audio of a consumer-oriented brand, your founders said.



Alice.com will contend with Drugstore.com, Diapers.com, Amazon.com Inc and others currently promoting many involving those items it stocks. Jellyfish.com had been rebranded as Bing cashback, a service shoppers can use to save lots of cash after they shop online.

The duo in comparison Alice.com to Netflix Inc since the newest site will remind buyers in order to reorder, a lot similar to Netflix sends the actual subsequent DVD inside a customer's queue. Alice.com aims to become distinct by simply in the particular role of any platform for producers to communicate straight toge ther with consumers.

Alice.com provides commitments via five associated with the most notable ten consumer products companies yet would not disclose whether as well as not specific players such as Procter & Gamble Co along with Unilever have signed up.

"As lengthy as the majority of your significant companies are generally planning to acquire powering something such as this, only then do we hope it's heading to be a viable chance to sell more," mentioned Mark McGreevy, director regarding national is your reason Durex Consumer Products.

Durex condoms tend to be available on the web site as well as through various other on-line retailers, yet similar in order to most additional manufacturers, Durex will not sell right to consumers.

Test customers mentioned these were pleased with Alice.com's approach, which in turn permits customers to match costs quickly.

"They're definitely tapping in to something which I consider could perform yet certainly it's h eading to take folks in order to adjust their way about how exactly they're buying products," mentioned Kristen Chase, an Atlanta-based co-founder associated with CoolMomPicks.com.

Chase along with Erin Doland, editor-in-chief regarding Unclutterer.com, said that they strategy to use your support again.

"Alice has been better-priced then my supermarket in almost all in the products," stated Doland, whom lives in the Washington, D.C. and working off the popularity involving networking web sites such as Facebook and MySpace, consumers may review goods as well as tell others the items they buy.

GO ASK ALICE

The identify is in one way any nod to the housekeeper Alice on the 1970s U.S. The Actual website tends in order to make cash by simply providing the businesses spending data, ad' space and also distributing samples pertaining to these to targeted customers.

Manufacturers give the site in order to handle logistics such as free shipping about all ord ers, that will want in order to have no much less than six items.

Wiegand stated Alice.com aims to capture 250,000 customers inside the very first year.

This is the fourth partnership pertaining to Wiegand as well as McGuire, that recently offered Jellyfish.com to Microsoft Corp in 2007. area.

For now, Alice.com provides only 1 distribution center, in Indiana, and will not send goods in order to Alaska as well as Hawaii.

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

. Your web site can be launching along with more than 6,000 goods such as shampoo, soap, coffee as well as pet food