Do you make shopping decisions based on comparison sites?

Online shopping comparison sites are said to be one of the fastest growing types of sites. According to an article in E-Commerce Times, online shopping itself is growing by leaps and bounds and showing no sign of slowing down. Online shopping has reached $211 billion, according to Forrester Research and is creating a huge market for shopping comparison sites. The question is though, how authentic and objective are these sites, since many of them are linked to certain vendors, so how valid is their opinion. Interestingly, its a question most consumers don't care about at all, since consumers use comparison sites most often when they have already narrowed their search down to a specific product and are looking for the best price.

Comparison sites are great for price-sensitive shoppers," notes Gene Alvarez, an analyst at Gartner (NYSE: IT) . "However, shoppers who want price and speed tend to use search engines to find products more often than comparison sites," he told the E-Commerce Times. "Therefore, both of these types of sites will vie for advertising revenues, creating more incentive for comparison sites to accept compensations for sales."