Invisible Hand is a remarkable piece of software which is lightweight and extremely efficient. It is an add-on for your web browser that works as a real time price comparison tool. As you browse products on the web, the invisible hand automatically finds you cheaper deals elsewhere. For expensive retailers, it’s a nightmare, but for us consumers it’s a dream come true. After all, everyone loves to get a cheap bargain when they’re looking to do some discount shopping online.
The software browses through 115 different retailers spanning the USA, UK and Germany. Obviously I can only comment on the UK as any others are unnecessary for me. In the UK the software browses major retailers such as Amazon, Curry’s, Dixons, HMV, Play.com, John Lewis and Misco. There are in total 46 UK retailers within the software’s capabilities.
In the past I have used Google’s shopping tools for such price comparisons when primarily buying electronics or gadgets. However, I was never satisfied with it as I noticed that Google displays results from sites I personally have never come across and receive appalling reviews all over the web. Ideally, I would prefer these to be left out of the equation which is why I am all too eager to continue using Invisible Hand.
Unfortunately, the add on is only compatible with Firefox or Google Chrome which rules out about 70% of the web enabled population who use Internet Explorer, Safari etc. However, for those lucky enough to use one of the able browsers, you can download Invisible Hand free of charge from the official website. Perhaps it’s another great reason why people should install one of these supported browsers?
The software itself is discreet, which is great as anything intrusive would put me off entirely. As you browse the web you don’t notice it’s presence at all. It’s only when you land upon a product that it springs into life and a small notification protrudes from the top of the browser telling you how much and where you can save. It gives you not only the total value of your saving, but a percentage too which I suppose is beneficial when it comes to appreciating how much you have saved.
The Invisible Hand community (sounds like something from a horror movie or video game doesn’t it?) is constantly expanding all the time. Whenever a user lands upon a product it scours the web for better deals and adds them to the database for any future users who land upon that site. This means that as the community expands, the faster it becomes to find your deals and the more accurate they become.
Another great feature of Invisible Hand is that you don’t actually have to hit the product on a site to receive better deals. It becomes integrated into Google so when you search a product, or ‘Google’ it. It automatically finds deals for you to save you all the time and effort of scrolling through the search results.
In the short time that I have used the Invisible Hand, I have found it extremely useful. Although I have not bought anything online during testing of the software as yet, I am very impressed with its potential for online shopping and would recommend it to any bargain hunters out there.
