Q: Which stores are included in Flit.com?

A: We focus on quality, brand-name sites that offer good values and unique online shopping experiences. We particularly like sites that present a good range of products well - just as a great bricks-and-mortar retailer would do. Within each category we strive to include a wide range of stores from luxury to value and reflect the strong companies in that area as well as some interesting nichier firms. We are continually researching and expanding the coverage and adding sites that are suggested by our users. If you have a favorite online store that you dont see listed just suggest it to us using the link that is in the bottom right of the current site listings. If you operate a store that you think would be suitable for the site please contact us by phone or email.

Q: Who is Flit.com designed for?

A: Our initial website www.enteronce.com was designed to make online shopping easier for people with limited or impaired typing skills. In fact, seeing our older parents hunt-and-peck their way between a few limited stores spurred us to find a better way. However, as Flit took shape and evolved, we suddenly found that even the power-typists and power-shoppers amongst us were turning to it every time. Even if you can type at 100 words-per-minute and enter the URLs of all your favorite stores accurately everytime, why bother? - especially when shopping. So, flit become a general purpose shopping tool that anyone can use. It is especially valuable for shopping categories that are hard to shop using a standard search-focused approach. For things like Womens apparel and indoor living you really need to shop between different stores. Geographically, the current release of Flit is focused on US stores. Flit.com took the essential design of enteronce and improves upon it with a cleaner layout and interface. We will be releasing additional country versions very shortly.

Q: What is the value of shopping easily between stores using Flit.com?

A: Shopping between different stores brings you a lot of benefits. We see them falling within four simple 'Ds':

• Discovery - good online stores provide great opportunities to learn about the item you're looking for. Visiting a number of stores gives you new ideas that may change your shopping direction: "Mmm, these guys offer stylish speakers that work outside as well as inside. That's a better way to go."
You may also see new trends: "Wow, a lot of clothing stores are featuring green right now. That seems to be the hot new thing."
• Diversity - different stores provide a wonderful variety and make shopping engaging. Visting just one store reduces that and no single online store or engine covers everything from every store. In fact, coverage turns out to be pretty spotty. Test this out and you'll quickly see what we mean.
• Deals - this is the obvious benefit and one that shopping comparison sites can help with. But it's always worth a quick look in your favorites to see if they are running any specials.
• Delight - just as visiting different physical stores is fun because of their different store layouts, colors, fittings and lighting, so too with many online sites. Well-branded stores resonate with our personalities and sense of style. Experiencing this by visiting stores directly rather than seeing everything through listed results is another more subtle benefit of shopping between different stores.

Q: How does searching with Flit.com differ from a search engine?

A: The difference is subtle, but very important. Search engines search the entire web looking for pages that match your search. Comparison engines search a list of products that online stores have provided for listing there. When you use Flit.com it takes your search and then makes the store you selected execute that search within the store itself. You get back the same results as if you had gone to say - Nordstroms.com - found the search box, typed it in and then pressed the search button. By doing this what you get to see is very different. If you enter 'black lingerie' and click on Nordstrom's what you see will is very different from doing the same thing on either a search engine or a comparison engine. It allows the stores to demonstrate their category knowledge and retail prowess, giving you a well selected range of beautifully presented product. We call this approach Go Search. Flit allows you to get the best of both world's as many search and comparison options are provided on the 'General Tab'. Plus, with Flit.com having seen what Nordstroms offers you, you can then just click LaPerla, LaSenza, and Fredericks and easily see that they have. The experience is very much like going in and out of real stores. Try it out!

Q: When I do a search sometimes three category tabs are highlighted. Why?

A: When you first do a search on Flit.com it aims to match your search to the most relevant shopping category. For some searches, like say "red pants", it will match several categories, so what it does is present all of them ordered in what it thinks is most relevant from left to right. Flit.com will not always get your category exactly right so it gives you choice. If the category you wanted was not the first it is then easy to just hit the right one and start looking inside stores. If you take the example of "red pants" Flit.com will come back with five tabs highlighted: Womens Clothing, Babys & Kids, Teens, Mens Clothing and Sports. You simply pick the one you were after. We think that is better than showing you everything from yoga pants to potty training pants!

Q: Why does Flit.com need cookies enabled? What if I delete them?

A: Like many web applications Flit.com uses a small cookie stored in your browser to keep track of your session as you go from page to page. Because all your tabs, preferences and search trail are all unique to your session that tracking is essential. The cookie in your browser is unique to you and is also used to reload your preferences when you return to the site. If you delete your cookies then your preferences will not be stored. If you wish to protect them more permanently Flit.com allows you to send yourself an email link that when you click on it reloads all your saved items. That options is found in top right of the favorites tab. Since logging into sites is inconvenient (more typing) we wanted to give you a simple system that lets you avoid all that.

Q: How do the Flit.com store searches work?

A: When you use Flit.com to shop inside different stores it is really doing something quite simple. It just takes your search term and creates a link in your browser which when you click it initiates your search inside the store. The stpre then simply returns the search result directly to your browser. The link itself is just a unique url for that store. If you want to see more about how the link look at the next FAQ.

Q: How does my clicking on a store link initiate a search?

A: For an individual store the answer is quite simple. In the image below is the URL for a search on the OfficeMax website for "red book". At the end of the URL you will notice the code "freeText=red+book". This simply tells the OfficeMax website to display a search for that term. If you change your search term in the URL then the site will display search results for that new term. What Flit.com does is create all the customized links for all the stores (each one is different) so you can do your shopping searches without all that re-typing.

As the formats change over time we continually test and keep all the link formats up to date so that you can keep clicking. By the way, OfficeMax do have nice black notebooks with red spiral bindings!

Q: How can I use the Search Trail at the bottom of the search screen?

A: The Search Trail™ is a visual way to know what stores you've been to. It shows the last 12 stores you've visited. As well as being a simple reminder, you can use it to search stores you've already been to with your lastest search term. Just click the store's icon and a search will be initiated. By hovering your mouse over an icon, the name of the store will be displayed. If you check the box that says show Store Jotter there is another way to use the search trail. When the box is checked you will now see additional check boxes appear under each of the stores you have visited. You can use these boxes to mark stores whose things you like. If you're shopping a lot of stores and have a number of them checked, you can click the 'clear unchecked' link to leave just those ones in your shopping trail.

If you have any questions that are not answered here just drop us an email with question in the subject line. We'll be sure to get back to you.

The Flit.com Team