Potential agency mechanisms come in many forms. Services designed to save time and hassle include product comparison services (which provide expert assessments, or user testimonials), expert advice (about how to solve particular problems using what products and services), search services (I'm looking for an item with these features, has anybody got it?), solution assembly services (I want to go to Berlin next Wednesday: please book me the flight, taxis, hotels, the lot), and concierge services (eg home delivery). Services designed to help save consumers money include price comparison services, bid and offer solicitation (I'm interested in X, what can you offer me?), reverse auctions (where offer makers compete against each other for a sale), buying clubs (where buyers club together to increase their buying power), and reverse spot markets (where, instead of committing to, say, a loan at a fixed percentage, the agent "plays the money markets" for you, finding you the lowest interest rate, day by day). And that's just the beginning. The Store's Johnson talks about "life managers", "decision agents", "passion partners", "intelligent agents" (who know my personal tastes and favourites), and so on. So far, however, if such services exist, they exist as clunky, isolated standalone offers resting in obscurity in some struggling dotcom. The opportunity for retailers is to integrate the right mix of such mechanisms into a fully developed easy-to-use agency service that adds a whole new dimension of value for their customers. {{FEAT. COVER }}