We'll file this one under great marketing ploys, but to be honest it also gave us a bit of a laugh. Australian online-only electronics retailer Kogan announced on Wednesday that they are the first website to implement an "Internet Explorer 7 Tax", whereby everyone attempting to make a purchase using the six-year-old browser will have a 6.8% surcharge placed on their order; 0.1% for every month IE7 has been on the market.
Kogan notes that having to code their website to specifically work with Internet Explorer 7 is "not only costing us a huge amount" but it's "costing the Internet economy millions". This new tax is attempting to rid the world of people using horribly outdated web browsers, which in turn will save websites money who normally would have to code workarounds to get everything functioning correctly on outdated browsers. Oh, and did we mention it's great for marketing their website?
Users who do browse to the Kogan website via IE7, which according to StatCounter should be around 1.3% of Australians, will see the above warning informing them that they will be taxed 6.8% unless they choose one of the better browsing options that are listed. In the checkout they will also notice a hefty surcharge as seen below, in fact if they buy a top-of-the-line LED TV they'll be charged an additional $110 just for using an old browser.
As Kogan puts it: "we all have a responsibility to make the Internet a better place. By taking these measures, we are doing our bit." And good on them.
Via: The Verge
Source: Kogan Blog | Images via Kogan
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