If you’ve ever wanted to integrate comparative shopping information from Yahoo’s shopping network, you know have the ability to do so, thanks to Yahoo’s release of their Shopping API.
With this particular API’s launch, would-be coders can now integrate information about comparison shopping, price comparison, and product search functionality into their site by using the API to develop the necessary application. The Yahoo Shopping API is available here. In order to download, users need to apply for an application ID. Upon downloading, users will be able to do the following:
You can use Yahoo! Shopping Web Services to search our database of millions of product offers and thousands of merchants. The API can be used to create applications that provide comparison shopping and product search functionality.
The Shopping API give users access to the following services:
Allows you to search for products offerings and buyers’ guides that correspond to a particular query.
Allows you to find the individual offers inside a Yahoo! Shopping Buyers’ Guide catalog.
Allows you to retrieve data about the merchants making offers on Yahoo! Shopping.
An example given by Yahoo’s press release details some potential uses for the now-available shopping API. For instance, a website covering the digital camera industry could use the API to provide prices and availability for products that have been featured on the site. The API would deliver XML results about price and availability information from various online stores about the camera responsible for the query.
Chris Richardson is a search engine writer and editor for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest search news.
