Thursday 27 November 2008

Is Rudd's Grocery Choice web site a poisoned chalice?

In the Courier Mail this week:

"AUSTRALIA'S leading voice for consumers, Choice, has been plunged into controversy after bailing out troubled Grocerychoice.com.au website.
One board member has resigned and consumer advocates claim the $13 million bailout of the Rudd Government website
www.grocerychoice.com.au will damage Choice's reputation for independence.
But with consumer interest collapsing - about 54,000 website hits have been recorded this month - the Government is keen to overhaul the stricken service.
The scheme aims to tell shoppers the cheapest supermarket for groceries but has been plagued by controversy - and public apathy - since its launch in August."

The real question here is; how will Choice manage to overhaul and update this site (with a frequency which satisfies shoppers need across the country) with only a one-off $13 million in funding?

Will Choice itself have to be bailed out in another 3-4 years, as it discovers that constantly collecting reliable cost information is extremely expensive.

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