Microsoft has bought comparative shopping Web site Jellyfish.com, which gives its customers a cut of advertising revenue from retailers, offering a rebate on purchases made through the site.
Microsoft sees Jellyfish.com as a way to augment its e-commerce and search offerings, although no details were immediately available on how the company may transform the site or wrap it into other offerings. Microsoft revealed the acquisition in a blog posting Tuesday, but did not say how much it paid for the site.
“We think the technology has some interesting potential applications as we continue to invest heavily in shopping and commerce as a key component of Live Search,” Microsoft’s search engine blog announced.
Advertisers choose the level of commission they will pay to Jellyfish.com for sales made, at least half of which Jellyfish.com says it will give back to purchasers as a rebate. Jellyfish.com ranks products according to the price including that rebate.
