The Australian article

Some of the nation’s biggest retailers, such as Woolworths, Coles, JB Hi-Fi, Dick Smith and Harvey Norman, are about to have their price strategies stripped naked for all shoppers to see, with a tech company backed by entrepreneur Gary Cohen set to launch the nation’s first independent price comparison browser.
Invigor Group, an ASX-listed data analytics group of which Mr Cohen is executive chairman, will unveil today its Shopping Ninja tool that will house the prices of 100,000 products across the consumer electronics, white goods and alcoholic beverages categories from major retailers.
Initially available on the desktop but then soon migrating to smartphone devices, it promises further headaches for retailers already buckling under the weight of intense completion, skittish consumers and eroding margins thanks to the weaker Australian dollar and the constant need to discount sticker prices to maintain sales growth.
Consumers will be able to search any product in the three key retail categories and instantly be provided with a list of the cheapest stores and the up-to-date price being charged for the particular item.
It means that for a retail landscape weathering some of the toughest competition in decades there will be nowhere to hide on pricing.
“This is all about a transformation or revolution of online shopping,’’ Mr Cohen toldThe Australian.
“It will be the first in Australia. There are literally hundreds of sites in Australia you need to search through for airfares, or insurance, but (not) if you are shopping and you want an experience in your armchair, and that is to shop without going to lots of different sites.
“We are comparing it daily and the shopper can save thousands of dollars a year for no charge to them. It will make a huge difference to the way people shop.’’
Mr Cohen, who founded and built a medical technology company that became iSOFT and by 2007 was Australia’s biggest tech player, valued at more than $1 billion, said shoppers could deploy Shopping Ninja to find the best price for a bottle of champagne, big-screen TV or washing machine.
“Retailers will have to be competitive. So I have been testing Dan Murphy’s out and nine times out of 10 when I click on Dan Murphy’s it’s the lowest price, and therefore groups like Coles, or whoever, will have to either get their act together and lower their price or miss out on more and more business.’’
Mr Cohen believes Shopping Ninja will drive revenue of $3 million in its first 12 months for Invigor, growing to $20m within two years.
Invigor will earn money when shoppers click on a retailer’s price and order the product online, with a third-party affiliate that collects commissions from the big retailers to drive online traffic to their sites handing over a fee.
“It will be truly seamless for the consumer,’’ Mr Cohen said. “And more importantly, it is truly unique in the sense we are not beholden to any one or more retailer, we are totally agnostic, and its our own (price) data.’’
Mr Cohen said offering transparent pricing would turn shopping into an open market.
“Consumers will be able to benefit enormously by being able to see through, much like a stock exchange or open clearing house, who is the cheapest. And if they want to pay more, it’s their choice, but at least they know if they are being ripped off.’’
Invigor has plans to eventually extend its Shopping Ninja pricing tool to cover health and beauty.