However, merchants should consider three points before trying to block agents. First, it is difficult. The only effective way to block shopping agents is to constantly change the underlying structure of the Web site. Doing so, however, increases administrative overhead and can disrupt links to and within the site. Second, it can be advantageous for merchants to allow agents onto their sites.
Agents can increase a merchant's visibility among consumers and can help bring in new sales.
Third, the impact of agents has been overblown, since price is but one variable consumers consider when making a purchasing decision. While price is a critical variable when purchasing commodities such as books and CDs, it is not as important when purchasing noncommodity, highly differentiated products such as real estate and online banking. For such complex products, other factors, including customer service and brand image, can be significantly more important than price. So merchants of complex products have no real reason to fear these comparison shopping agents. Instead, they should pay greater attention to the decision-making tools that are being developed for specific product categories.