Because it is a win-win.
Consumers get choice and merchants get an easy way to market their products.
The company's roots are in the development of software tools. The most popular has been Fusion, which allows for the creation of Web sites. And they definitely want value-added services. According to International Data Corporation, there were 44.7 million small businesses and home offices in the US in 1998. This is expected to swell to 57.6 million by 2002.