Netscape launches Web market
Hoping to cash in on holiday sales, Netscape Communications launches an online shop as part of its Netcenter Web site.
The Marketplace, with books, music, and 800 software products for sale, will use encryption to protect online transactions. But to coax shoppers wary of Internet security, the company will guarantee $50 of liability insurance on top of the regular insurance provided by credit card companies.
To capitalize on the popularity of its Web site, Netscape launched Netcenter in September to build a Web-based community and further drive revenue through advertising and product sales. Twenty-eight percent of the company's revenue comes from the services sector, which includes the Web site as well as the company's consulting and tech support divisions.
Except for sales of its own software, Netscape is not providing the content or products on Netcenter. Rather, it has partnered with companies such as Amazon.com for books, Software.net for third-party software, Individual for business news, and Yahoo for Internet listings and reviews.
The rest of the company's revenue comes from sales of client software (18 percent) and sales of server software (54 percent), Netscape representatives said.