Patent ID: 8700470

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of conducting electronic commerce on a network, comprising: interfacing, by a computer, with a plurality of publishers on the network to define an inventory of ad spaces on electronic documents published by the publishers in which a comparison shop ad unit can be displayed; accessing, by a computer, advertising criteria provided by one or more of merchants, publishers or brokers associated with electronic commerce enabled ad units advertising items offered by the merchants; selecting, by a computer, a plurality of ad units based on the advertising criteria; combining, by a computer, the plurality of selected ad units into a single comparison shop ad unit, the comparison shop ad unit including a user interface element the comparison shop ad unit configured to: display a first ad unit of the plurality of ad units within a single ad space of an electronic document of a publisher, and selectively display a second ad unit of the plurality of ad units within the same single ad space in response to a selection of the user interface element, wherein the first ad unit is not displayed when the second ad unit is selectively displayed, the comparison shop ad unit occupying the single ad space of the electronic document, separate from the publisher content of the electronic document, the publisher content of the electronic document remaining displayed when the second ad unit is selectively displayed within the same ad space of the electronic document; serving, by a computer, the comparison shop ad unit for display on a display of a user device within the ad space of the electronic document published by the publisher; and interacting with a customer through an ad unit of the plurality of ad units of the comparison shop ad unit to enable the customer to purchase an advertised item of the ad unit.