A comparison shopping website , sometimes called a price comparison website , price analysis tool , comparison shopping agent , shopbot , aggregator or comparison shopping engine , is a vertical search engine that shoppers use to filter and compare products based on price, features, reviews and other criteria. Most comparison shopping sites aggregate product listings from many different retailers but do not directly sell products themselves, instead earning money from affiliate marketing agreements. In the United Kingdom , these services made between £780m and £950m in revenue in 2005 . Hence, E-commerce accounted for an 18.2 percent share of total business turnover in the United Kingdom in 2012. Online sales already account for 13% of the total UK economy, and its expected to increase to 15% by 2017. There is a huge contribution of comparison shopping websites in the expansion of the current E-commerce industry.
62-396: MONY Group plc , trading as Money Supermarket , is a British company which specialises in technology-led money-saving platforms including several price comparison websites. The company enables consumers to compare prices on a range of products, including energy, car insurance , home insurance , travel insurance , mortgages , credit cards and loans . The company's subsidiaries include
124-431: A central database. Users could then search for a product, and see a list of retailers and prices for that product. Advertisers did not pay to be listed but paid for every click on a price. Streetprices , founded in 1997, has been a very early company in this space; it invented price graphs and email alerts in 1998. Price comparison sites can collect data directly from merchants. Retailers who want to list their products on
186-431: A central database. Users could then search for a product, and see a list of retailers and prices for that product. Advertisers did not pay to be listed but paid for every click on a price. Streetprices , founded in 1997, has been a very early company in this space; it invented price graphs and email alerts in 1998. Price comparison sites can collect data directly from merchants. Retailers who want to list their products on
248-432: A spokesman, played by James Lance , referred to Bill as "so Moneysupermarket". In January 2014, Snoop Dogg and his song " Who Am I (What's My Name) " were featured in a new ad. In August of the same year, the "Epic Elephunk" walked around Manhattan with "Graeme" riding on its back; again he was described as "so Money Supermarket"; the soundtrack was " Word Up! " by Cameo . In January 2015, another advertising campaign
310-484: A statement that the European Commission's assessment will be appealed. Google will review the formal decision, but expects that it will accrue the fine in the second quarter of 2017. Comparison shopping website A comparison shopping website , sometimes called a price comparison website , price analysis tool , comparison shopping agent , shopbot , aggregator or comparison shopping engine ,
372-573: A €2.42 billion fine against the parent company Alphabet, and an order to change its practices within 90 days. In the early development stage from 1995 to 2000, comparison shopping agents included not only price comparison but also rating and review services for online vendors and products. Altogether, there were three broad categories of comparison shopping services. Later, through mergers and acquisitions, many services were consolidated. Through 1998 and 1999, various firms developed technology that searched retailers websites for prices and stored them in
434-572: Is a vertical search engine that shoppers use to filter and compare products based on price, features, reviews and other criteria. Most comparison shopping sites aggregate product listings from many different retailers but do not directly sell products themselves, instead earning money from affiliate marketing agreements. In the United Kingdom , these services made between £780m and £950m in revenue in 2005 . Hence, E-commerce accounted for an 18.2 percent share of total business turnover in
496-437: Is a growing problem from the perspective of consumer protection and the quality of search engines. By playing the algorithm of search engine giant Google, it is possible to place low quality sites prominently in the search results. Until recently the phenomenon of fake test or comparison websites had escaped public attention. An analysis by testbericht.de discovered that 34,6% of German search traffic related to product tests on
558-437: Is a growing problem from the perspective of consumer protection and the quality of search engines. By playing the algorithm of search engine giant Google, it is possible to place low quality sites prominently in the search results. Until recently the phenomenon of fake test or comparison websites had escaped public attention. An analysis by testbericht.de discovered that 34,6% of German search traffic related to product tests on
620-663: Is that, since their content is provided by retail stores, content on price comparison websites is unlikely to be absolutely unique. The table style layout of a comparison website could be considered by Google as "Autogenerated Content and Roundup/Comparison Type of Pages". As of the 2011 updates to its search algorithm, known as Google Panda , Google seems to have started considering these comparison sites to be of low quality. Due to large affiliate network providers providing easily accessible information on large amounts of similar products from multiple vendors , in recent years small price comparison sites have been able to use technology that
682-663: Is that, since their content is provided by retail stores, content on price comparison websites is unlikely to be absolutely unique. The table style layout of a comparison website could be considered by Google as "Autogenerated Content and Roundup/Comparison Type of Pages". As of the 2011 updates to its search algorithm, known as Google Panda , Google seems to have started considering these comparison sites to be of low quality. Due to large affiliate network providers providing easily accessible information on large amounts of similar products from multiple vendors , in recent years small price comparison sites have been able to use technology that
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#1732783585874744-464: Is through crowdsourcing . This lets the price comparison engine collect data from almost any source without the complexities of building a crawler or the logistics of setting up data feeds at the expense of lower coverage comprehensiveness. Sites that use this method rely on visitors contributing pricing data. Unlike discussion forums, which also collect visitor input, price comparison sites that use this method combine data with related inputs and add it to
806-464: Is through crowdsourcing . This lets the price comparison engine collect data from almost any source without the complexities of building a crawler or the logistics of setting up data feeds at the expense of lower coverage comprehensiveness. Sites that use this method rely on visitors contributing pricing data. Unlike discussion forums, which also collect visitor input, price comparison sites that use this method combine data with related inputs and add it to
868-408: Is to crawl the web for prices. This means the comparison service scans retail web pages to retrieve the prices, instead of relying on the retailers to supply them. This method is also sometimes called 'scraping' information. Some, mostly smaller, independent sites solely use this method, to get prices directly from the websites that it is using for the comparison. Yet another approach to collect data
930-408: Is to crawl the web for prices. This means the comparison service scans retail web pages to retrieve the prices, instead of relying on the retailers to supply them. This method is also sometimes called 'scraping' information. Some, mostly smaller, independent sites solely use this method, to get prices directly from the websites that it is using for the comparison. Yet another approach to collect data
992-526: The UK to be the most complained about advert in 2015 with 1,513 complaints. In their ruling, the ASA found that whilst it may be distasteful to some, it did not judge the advert was offensive and the complaint was not upheld. In July 2015, another advert was launched. It shows a chubby construction worker named Colin (played by Kyle McIntire). He dances, gyrates, does a worm dance and a split in front of his co-workers and
1054-584: The United Kingdom in 2012. Online sales already account for 13% of the total UK economy, and its expected to increase to 15% by 2017. There is a huge contribution of comparison shopping websites in the expansion of the current E-commerce industry. The first widely recognized comparison-shopping agent was BargainFinder, developed by Andersen Consulting (now Accenture ). The team, led by researcher Bruce Krulwich, created BargainFinder in 1995 as an experiment and published it on-line without advance warning to
1116-608: The United Kingdom, a list produced by the Advertising Standards Authority . Despite the potential negativity, the company's new Chief Executive stated that he believed the 2,500 complaints showed their adverts had people talking about the brand. In September 2016, an advert featuring the hashtag 'epicsquads' was released. This time featuring strutting businessman "Dave", his builder rival "Colin", and gangs of each of their similarly-attired friends. In March 2017, another advert featuring Skeletor dancing to
1178-490: The bemused office staff at the other building. The song featured in this advert is " Just a Little " by British pop group Liberty X . At the end of the advert, he also swings on a wrecking ball (a reference to the video of Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball ). In January 2016, another TV campaign by agency Mother was launched featuring a bodyguard named Gary. The song featured in the advert is " Big Bad Wolf " by Duck Sauce , an American-Canadian DJ duo. In April 2016, another advert
1240-548: The chief editor of the platform. The company announced in 2015 that Lewis would be reducing his overall holding in Moneysupermarket.com to 1.5%. In October 2016, the company announced that Mark Lewis, a former retail director at John Lewis , would take over as CEO from Peter Plumb in May 2017. In September 2020, in another change in management, Peter Duffy took over as CEO. On 19 October 2021, Moneysupermarket announced it
1302-594: The company was the subject of an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange at a price that valued the business at circa £1 billion. It was one of the largest tech flotations in the United Kingdom to have taken place for many years. In 2012, Moneysupermarket announced the acquisition of MoneySavingExpert.com for £87 million. Following the acquisition, MoneySavingExpert remained editorially independent and its founder, Martin Lewis , remained as
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#17327835858741364-522: The comparison shopping site, retailers either pay a flat fee to be included on the site, pay a fee each time a user clicks through to the retailer web site, or pay every time a user completes a specified action—for example, when they buy something or register with their e-mail address. Comparison shopping sites obtain large product data feeds covering many different retailers from affiliate networks such as LinkShare and Commission Junction. There are also companies that specialize in data feed consolidation for
1426-522: The comparison shopping site, retailers either pay a flat fee to be included on the site, pay a fee each time a user clicks through to the retailer web site, or pay every time a user completes a specified action—for example, when they buy something or register with their e-mail address. Comparison shopping sites obtain large product data feeds covering many different retailers from affiliate networks such as LinkShare and Commission Junction. There are also companies that specialize in data feed consolidation for
1488-578: The e-commerce sites being compared. The first commercial shopping agent, called Jango, was produced by Netbot , a Seattle startup company founded by University of Washington professors Oren Etzioni and Daniel S. Weld ; Netbot was acquired by the Excite portal in late 1997. Junglee, a Bay-area startup, also pioneered comparison shopping technology and was soon acquired by Amazon.com . Other early comparison shopping agents included pricewatch.com and killerapp.com. NexTag another entry into comparison shopping
1550-456: The early development stage from 1995 to 2000, comparison shopping agents included not only price comparison but also rating and review services for online vendors and products. Altogether, there were three broad categories of comparison shopping services. Later, through mergers and acquisitions, many services were consolidated. Through 1998 and 1999, various firms developed technology that searched retailers websites for prices and stored them in
1612-439: The first page of google leads to fake test sites. When a big German newspaper published a report about such a website and consumer protection organization sending out warning letters, observers started to note a sense of panic in the industry, with site owners changing or deleting the content in question. Amazon, being the biggest player in the affiliate market, declined to comment on the matter. Deceptive comparison sites give
1674-439: The first page of google leads to fake test sites. When a big German newspaper published a report about such a website and consumer protection organization sending out warning letters, observers started to note a sense of panic in the industry, with site owners changing or deleting the content in question. Amazon, being the biggest player in the affiliate market, declined to comment on the matter. Deceptive comparison sites give
1736-510: The following years companies like Baoxian ( China ), Jirnexu ( Malaysia ), and AskHanuman ( Thailand ) followed. Meanwhile, in developed markets, Google was accused of promoting Froogle and its replacement, the paid-placement-only Google Shopping , over competitors in its search results, driving down traffic to other sites and driving some out of business. The European Commission began an investigation in 2010, which concluded in July 2017 with
1798-402: The functionality and performance of page-wise SSC engines (AKA bots) exist. These studies demonstrate that no best or parsimonious shopping bot exists with respect to price advantage. Price comparison sites typically do not charge users anything to use the site. Instead, they are monetized through payments from retailers who are listed on the site. Depending on the particular business model of
1860-402: The functionality and performance of page-wise SSC engines (AKA bots) exist. These studies demonstrate that no best or parsimonious shopping bot exists with respect to price advantage. Price comparison sites typically do not charge users anything to use the site. Instead, they are monetized through payments from retailers who are listed on the site. Depending on the particular business model of
1922-482: The group's research found that 20 per cent of people in Scotland had never switched energy provider. In 2010, adverts featured comedian Omid Djalili as the character of "HaggleHero". From 2011 to 2013 the company's adverts included a man surfing on an inflatable crocodile, a man in a jungle with gorillas and a man going into space. In August 2013 a new advert was launched, featuring "Bill" with an army of cats whilst
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1984-504: The impression of testing a product thoroughly. In reality, the tests are just an aggregation of freely available information, often leading to the most expensive products being recommended. This in turn increases the commission rate the site owners earn for the recommended products. In 2017, the European Commission fined Google €2.42BN for allegedly monopolising the comparison shopping engine (CSE) market. Google released
2046-434: The impression of testing a product thoroughly. In reality, the tests are just an aggregation of freely available information, often leading to the most expensive products being recommended. This in turn increases the commission rate the site owners earn for the recommended products. In 2017, the European Commission fined Google €2.42BN for allegedly monopolising the comparison shopping engine (CSE) market. Google released
2108-464: The main database though collaborative filtering, artificial intelligence, or human labor. Data contributors may be rewarded for the effort through prizes, cash, or other social incentives. However, some combination of these two approaches is most frequently used. Some search engines are starting to blend information from standard feeds with information from sites where product stock-keeping units (SKUs) are unavailable. Empirical projects that assessed
2170-464: The main database though collaborative filtering, artificial intelligence, or human labor. Data contributors may be rewarded for the effort through prizes, cash, or other social incentives. However, some combination of these two approaches is most frequently used. Some search engines are starting to blend information from standard feeds with information from sites where product stock-keeping units (SKUs) are unavailable. Empirical projects that assessed
2232-451: The mid-1990s. In the late 1990s, Nixon realised that the introduction of easy access to the internet would create opportunities for web-based businesses. He launched a website which facilitated price comparison for personal loans and credit cards which was marketed as a business to consumer business. As the web-based business expanded to offer mortgage comparisons, Nixon decided to close the traditional mortgage subscription business which at
2294-546: The price comparison sites. Many of the popular shopping websites provide direct affiliation to the customer who wants to become affiliate partner. They provide their own API to the affiliate partner to show their products with specifications to the affiliate partner's website. This enables price comparison sites to monetize the products contained in the feeds by earning commissions on click through traffic. Other price comparison sites have deals with merchants and aggregate feeds using their own technology. In recent years, many off
2356-546: The price comparison sites. Many of the popular shopping websites provide direct affiliation to the customer who wants to become affiliate partner. They provide their own API to the affiliate partner to show their products with specifications to the affiliate partner's website. This enables price comparison sites to monetize the products contained in the feeds by earning commissions on click through traffic. Other price comparison sites have deals with merchants and aggregate feeds using their own technology. In recent years, many off
2418-530: The price comparison websites MoneySuperMarket, Travel Supermarket, IceLolly, and Decision Tech, along with the cashback website Quidco and the Moneysavingexpert advice website. MONY Group is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index . The company was founded by Simon Nixon and Duncan Cameron as a mortgage subscription business in 1987. It expanded rapidly during
2480-678: The purpose of price comparison and that charge users for accessing this data. When products from these feeds are displayed on their sites they earn money each time a visitor clicks through to the merchant's site and buys something. Search results may be sorted by the amount of payment received from the merchants listed on the website. large price comparison sites. In addition to comparing tangible goods, some sites compare prices of services, such as insurance , credit cards, phone bills, and money transfer. Like most websites, price comparison websites partly rely on search engines for visitors. The general nature of shopping focused price comparison websites
2542-678: The purpose of price comparison and that charge users for accessing this data. When products from these feeds are displayed on their sites they earn money each time a visitor clicks through to the merchant's site and buys something. Search results may be sorted by the amount of payment received from the merchants listed on the website. large price comparison sites. In addition to comparing tangible goods, some sites compare prices of services, such as insurance , credit cards, phone bills, and money transfer. Like most websites, price comparison websites partly rely on search engines for visitors. The general nature of shopping focused price comparison websites
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2604-412: The shelf software solutions have been developed that allow website owners to take price comparison websites' inventory data to place retailer prices (context adverts) on their blog or content the only website. In return, the content website owners receive a small share of the revenue earned by the price comparison website. This is often referred to as the revenue share business model. Another approach
2666-412: The shelf software solutions have been developed that allow website owners to take price comparison websites' inventory data to place retailer prices (context adverts) on their blog or content the only website. In return, the content website owners receive a small share of the revenue earned by the price comparison website. This is often referred to as the revenue share business model. Another approach
2728-517: The song " Fame " by Irene Cara and also featuring He-Man was released, the advert returned yet again in October 2018. Later, in August 2017, the brand released another advert, this time featuring Skeletor and He-Man dancing to the song " Time of My Life " from the film " Dirty Dancing " with He-Man. In March 2018, an advert featuring Action Man dancing to the song " Finally " by CeCe Peniston
2790-473: The time was known as Mortgage 2000. As Cameron had been recruited to run the IT side of Mortgage 2000, there was no longer a full-time role for him and, from 2002, he simply became a silent partner in the business. In 2000, Moneysupermarket announced the launch of Travelsupermarket.com . The website operated in the same way as Moneysupermarket, but compared prices for the travel market. The goal of Travelsupermarket
2852-616: The website then supply their own lists of products and prices, and these are matched against the original database. This is done by a mixture of information extraction , fuzzy logic and human labour. Comparison sites can also collect data through a data feed file. Merchants provide information electronically in a set format. This data is then imported by the comparison website. Some third party businesses are providing consolidation of data feeds so that comparison sites do not have to import from many different merchants. Affiliate networks aggregate data feeds from many merchants and provide them to
2914-616: The website then supply their own lists of products and prices, and these are matched against the original database. This is done by a mixture of information extraction , fuzzy logic and human labour. Comparison sites can also collect data through a data feed file. Merchants provide information electronically in a set format. This data is then imported by the comparison website. Some third party businesses are providing consolidation of data feeds so that comparison sites do not have to import from many different merchants. Affiliate networks aggregate data feeds from many merchants and provide them to
2976-448: Was BargainFinder, developed by Andersen Consulting (now Accenture ). The team, led by researcher Bruce Krulwich, created BargainFinder in 1995 as an experiment and published it on-line without advance warning to the e-commerce sites being compared. The first commercial shopping agent, called Jango, was produced by Netbot , a Seattle startup company founded by University of Washington professors Oren Etzioni and Daniel S. Weld ; Netbot
3038-417: Was accused of promoting Froogle and its replacement, the paid-placement-only Google Shopping , over competitors in its search results, driving down traffic to other sites and driving some out of business. The European Commission began an investigation in 2010, which concluded in July 2017 with a €2.42 billion fine against the parent company Alphabet, and an order to change its practices within 90 days. In
3100-594: Was acquired by Experian for $ 485 million, negotiated by then-CEO and founder of the company, Kamran Pourzanjani , along with Tamim Mourad, in 1999. Around 2010, the price comparison websites found their way to emerging markets . Especially South-East Asia has been a place for many new comparison websites. It started in 2010 with CompareXpress in Singapore , and in the following years companies like Baoxian ( China ), Jirnexu ( Malaysia ), and AskHanuman ( Thailand ) followed. Meanwhile, in developed markets, Google
3162-407: Was acquired by the Excite portal in late 1997. Junglee, a Bay-area startup, also pioneered comparison shopping technology and was soon acquired by Amazon.com . Other early comparison shopping agents included pricewatch.com and killerapp.com. NexTag another entry into comparison shopping was named Times magazine world top 50 website in 2008, only to eventually close in 2018. In 2005, PriceGrabber
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#17327835858743224-575: Was acquiring Maple Syrup Media, the owners of the UK cashback website, Quidco.com. The sale amount is reported to be £87 million in cash, plus an additional £14 million as a deferred payment. On 2 May 2024, MoneySuperMarket Group plc announced it was changing its corporate holding name to MONY Group, a decision made to reflect the Group had "evolved" in recent years beyond the original price comparison website. This change came into effect on 20 May 2024. MoneySuperMarket, which specialises in financial services,
3286-483: Was bought by Moneysupermarket in 2012. The subsidiary also operates a Cheap Energy Club which monitors users' energy tariffs to help them find the cheapest available. Moneysupermarket has a research arm: it has released statistics suggesting that the UK wastes £1.6 billion on energy bills each year from leaving devices such as televisions on standby. It has also found that the cost of TV subscriptions can be reduced dramatically through streaming services . In February 2018,
3348-603: Was in 2016 the largest comparison website in the UK by revenue. The TravelSupermarket.com website, specialising in price comparison for package holidays , was established in 2004 as a sister site to Moneysupermarket.com. Like Moneysupermarket, TravelSupermarket's television advertisements have become known for their humour and use of celebrities. Previous ads featured comedian Omid Djalili , former Labour MP John Prescott and X Factor stars Jedward . MoneySavingExpert.com , established by financial journalist Martin Lewis in 2003 to provide financial information to consumers,
3410-484: Was launched featuring a man named Dave (played by Michael Van Schoik), walking down a street in L.A, dressed in a shirt, suit jacket, denim hot pants and high heels. He alongside two other people, struts confidently to the song " Don't Cha " by the Pussycat Dolls , while showing off his prominent rear to stunned onlookers, including Sharon Osbourne . It was later revealed by the Advertising Standards Authority in
3472-494: Was named Times magazine world top 50 website in 2008, only to eventually close in 2018. In 2005, PriceGrabber was acquired by Experian for $ 485 million, negotiated by then-CEO and founder of the company, Kamran Pourzanjani , along with Tamim Mourad, in 1999. Around 2010, the price comparison websites found their way to emerging markets . Especially South-East Asia has been a place for many new comparison websites. It started in 2010 with CompareXpress in Singapore , and in
3534-535: Was previously only available to large price comparison sites. This technology includes software and plugins aimed to standardize the typical processes involving price and product comparison. Without much resources it became possible for amateurs to build seemingly professional websites, mostly using the popular Wordpress CMS. These small sites often rely on Google for their visitors, which are monetized using affiliate networks like Amazon. The low content quality of typical niche sites, often bordering on spam and fraud,
3596-535: Was previously only available to large price comparison sites. This technology includes software and plugins aimed to standardize the typical processes involving price and product comparison. Without much resources it became possible for amateurs to build seemingly professional websites, mostly using the popular Wordpress CMS. These small sites often rely on Google for their visitors, which are monetized using affiliate networks like Amazon. The low content quality of typical niche sites, often bordering on spam and fraud,
3658-456: Was processing 52% of all the price comparisons in the UK. However, the reporter also pointed out that, in the case of household and car insurance, price comparison websites such as Moneysupermarket rarely include all products on the market and that price comparisons are consequently incomplete. Also, in June 2007, Nixon acquired Cameron’s 47% stake in the business for £162 million. Later that month,
3720-501: Was released. In March 2019, a new campaign, in tandem with a new logo, was launched featuring a parachuting cat and was narrated by comedian and voice over artist Matt Berry . In June 2020, a new campaign was released, still featuring Berry on narration duties, but this time, focusing on a “money calm” bull who remains calm even in chaotic situations, a play on the idiom "bull in a China shop". Comparison shopping website The first widely recognized comparison-shopping agent
3782-405: Was released. It showed all three of the 'epic' people having a dance off in a car park. The song featured in the advert is " Worth It " by Fifth Harmony featuring Kid Ink . The ad premiered during the first break of Britain's Got Talent . It was revealed in an article by The Telegraph that in 2016 three of Moneysupermarket's adverts made the top 10 list of most complained about commercials in
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#17327835858743844-656: Was to provide transparent pricing, describing the exact differences between the different price structures being offered. In 2002, the company appeared in The Sunday Times ' Fast Track 100, and it was also the 80th fastest growing tech business in the United Kingdom in the period from 2000 to 2002. In 2003, Nixon was declared Entrepreneur of the Year at the National Business Awards. In June 2007, The Guardian reported that Moneysupermarket
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