Shopping comparison sites come of age

Shopping comparison websites are fast becoming Australian consumer’s first port of call when they want to research and buy products online, says Adam Canter from shopping.com Australia

Consumers in the US and EU countries have been using shopping comparison websites diligently for the past 5-7 years to find the best products from the best retailers, Australians consumers are now being up the pace. Shopping comparison sites allow consumers to compare a vast array of products in various categories, from electronics to clothing to homewares, from a variety of bricks and clicks retailers as well as pure online players such as DealsDirect.com.au and OO.com.au. Rather than visiting 10 different retailer websites shopping comparison aggregate this data to give consumers the power of information before making their purchase decision.

Consumers can read professional reviews, reviews from other consumers, retailer reviews and product specifications before deciding what product they want to purchase on a shopping comparison site. Shopping comparison websites don’t actually sell products themselves but redirect consumers to the ‘buy it’ page on a retailer’s website. This allows retailers to gain brand recognition as well as the all valuable email address of the consumer, lifetime value of a consumer (additional purchases over the next 12-24 months driven by retailer email marketing campaigns) is a key metric to consider when retailers work with shopping comparison sites.

Shopping.com, www.au.shopping.com, is Australia’s largest shopping comparison website with over 1 million unique visitors each month (Nielsen NetRatings). In addition to this Shopping.com powers the shopping channels for ninemsn, Yahoo!7 and CNET. From a retailers point of view this gives them access to a wealth of online savvy consumers who are ready to purchase. With 1 million products from 550 retailers consumers are sure to find what they are looking for!