Boom times continue for comparison shopping sites as recession bites

Boom times continue for comparison shopping sites as recession bites

People are eating sausages instead of steak but they’re still snatching up big purchases such as LCD TVs according to GetPrice.com.au’s February monthly shopping index.

GetPrice CEO, Chris Hitchen, said while supermarkets had reported increased sausage sales and bakeries were selling scores of bread rolls as more people ate at home and packed their lunch, LCD and plasma TV sales had skyrocketed.

Mr Hitchen’s findings were supported by Quixel Research which found that LCD TV sales increased 14 per cent during the past twelve months in the UK.

“The upward trend in sales of big ticket household items comes as no surprise when you consider the price difference on a Sony 50 inch plasma was up to $1,101 last month on our website,” he said.

“It proves it pays to get online to compare prices.”

Consumers are getting the message. Mr Hitchen referred to another UK survey which found 36 per cent of British shoppers planned to do more shopping online and spend less time visiting stores this year.

Australians seem to be following suit with GetPrice receiving more than 2.1 million visits last month and year on year traffic up 210 per cent according to Google Analytics. GetPrice’s highest traffic day last month was January 27 – just after Australia Day.

Mr Hitchen said the effects of the economic downturn were, however, noticeable in a number of areas. Searches for domestic holidays were up ten percent as people cut back on overseas trips.

People were also exercising at home, with searches for treadmills up in an effort to reduce gym fees.

Other trends included a three per cent increase in the number of men using the site relative to women, with 43 per cent of GetPrice users now being men.

Popular searches for men’s items were for watches, up 17 per cent, men’s cologne, up 36 per cent, fitness accessories, up 21 per cent and power tools, up 13 per cent.

Price envy: Did you pay too much for any of these items last month?

Biggest price drops:

• Blackberry Storm 9,500 Mobile Phone -prices dropped from $1,299 to $823, a difference of $476 (37 per cent)
• LG KF900 Prada Mobile Phone – prices dropped from $999 to $841, a difference of $158 (16 per cent)
• NEC 40 inch LCD Monitor – prices dropped from $3,113 to $2,661, a difference of $452 (15 per cent)
• Olympus Evolt E3 Digital Camera – prices dropped from $2,499 to $2,158, a difference of $341 (14 per cent)
• Sony Vaio Laptop – prices dropped from $3,300 to $2,915, a difference of $385 (12 per cent)

Biggest price differences:

• Jennifer Lopez JLo Glow 100ml Perfume – prices ranged between $44 and $115, a difference of $71 (161 per cent)
• Sony FWD50PX3B 50 inch Plasma Television – prices ranged between $2,367 and $3,468, a difference of $1,101 (47 per cent)
• Sony VPLCS21 LCD Projector – prices ranged between $1,359 and $1,852, a difference of $493 (36 per cent)
• Acer P244WB 24 inch LCD Monitor – prices ranged between $370 and $471, a difference of $101 (27 per cent)