Brits in dark over price comparison sites, Pricesearcher

While the majority of Brits use price comparison sites, many are unaware these favour brands and retailers who have paid to have their products visible, according to Pricesearcher research.

The search engine venture surveyed 2,000 UK consumers. It found that 62% of consumers use price comparison websites to find the cheapest deals, but 39% are unaware that they do not show all the product options available. UK shoppers typically visit four such sites when researching products and 59% agree they would rather see all options in one place.

Samuel Dean, CEO and founder at Pricesearcher, comments: “We know UK shoppers have a keen eye for a bargain – but it’s hard for them to gather the information they need when shopping for a deal online when there are so many online sellers out there. We welcome the recent Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA) market study into digital comparison tools saying that they should ‘’clearly explain how much of the market they cover’’ and ‘’ensure all advertising is clearly identifiable’’.  At present, consumers are only being shown the options of products that retailers are willing to pay for. Our mission is to provide the complete view, and index every single price in the world and make that information searchable by consumers.”