PriceGrabber.co.uk unveils its consumer trends for Christmas 2012

- Reveals a distinction between the US and UK trends for key 'must- have' items

LONDON, Dec. 17, 2012/PRNewswire/ -- The flurry of Christmas shopping is well underway online. Activity kicked off in earnest on PriceGrabber.com from Cyber Monday in the USA (26th November) and PriceGrabber.co.uk saw business hit a peak on Mega Monday (3rd December) here in the UK. The likely winners in the battle of the brands in the electronics sector are beginning to emerge. Meanwhile, consumer trends across the broader range of products purchased online for Christmas are becoming increasingly apparent.

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Depending on which side of the Atlantic consumers are on, online shoppers are accessing PriceGrabber's sites; choice of top products will vary. For example, here in the UK, the iPad® Mini® is undoubtedly thrashing its competitors as the tablet of choice for the perfect Christmas gift. The iPad® Mini® in black and white take first and second spot respectively, with different models of the iPad 2® in third and seventh positions in the ranking of overall products on PriceGrabber.co.uk.

A variety of tablets were trending in the US, the first iPad® product to be featured comes in ninth on PriceGrabber.com. The Latitude® ST 10.1 " 32 GB Wi-Fi Black Tablet comes out first, followed closely by the Galaxy® Tab® 2, 10.1" and 8". Interestingly, the Galaxy® Tab 2® does not feature at all in the Top 20 products on PriceGrabber.co.uk site.

Another marked difference between the two sites is the popularity of TVs with US consumers, accounting for half of the top 20 products. In contrast, TVs do not feature at all in the UK top 20 trending products.

So, what accounts for the difference in consumer behaviour between the two countries? Justin Sedgmond, Head of PriceGrabber.co.uk, says, "It always surprises people that two countries that share the same language and appear on the surface to have so much in common, could have such different preferences in something as simple as their choice of technology products. In fact, the popularity of a technology item in a particular market is strongly influenced by factors such as pricing or the success of advertising campaigns."

The fastest growth area on PriceGrabber.co.uk is the fashion portal. Unsurprisingly, with temperatures taking a nose dive, the most popular clothing item featured on the top products overall here in the UK is a coat – the Barbour ®Liddesdale® Quilted jacket. While coats do feature on PriceGrabber.com, it is in fact sporting wear which nails the top spot, with men's running shoes (Scramble® TRII) and skate shoes (Action Dunk Low LR®) being the most popular items.

Indeed, despite the prevalence of consumer electronics products at the top of PriceGrabber's tables, in the UK clothing was the most popular sector overall on Mega Monday, which marks the true start of the online Christmas shopping season. Electronics came in second, swapping places with Indoor Living which was third, down from second place in 2011.

Justin Sedgmond concludes: "Christmas is a huge time for PriceGrabber.co.uk as we are able to offer consumer big brands for the best prices available with unbiased reviews, so consumers can get exactly what they want, knowing they won't find a better price anywhere else. Here at PriceGrabber we have unparalleled and unbiased insight into key consumer trends in the run-up to Christmas and it is always fascinating to see which products and brands are winning the battle. Whereas tablets are hugely popular this year, with so many new models having been launched ready for Christmas, clothing nonetheless remains the leading sector."

For a full list of the top trending products on both PriceGrabber.co.uk and PriceGrabber.com please see the appendix below.

About PriceGrabber.co.uk

PriceGrabber.co.uk and PriceGrabber. com are leading online shopping sites with more than 23 million monthly unique shopping users across its network of sites. At PriceGrabber.co.uk, savvy shoppers can instantly find and compare millions of unique products and services across 25 categories with more than 11,000 merchants. Compare products side by side to find the right retailers at the best prices within popular categories, such as Digital cameras, Electronics, Computers, Clothing, Books, TVs and more. PriceGrabber.co.uk provides shoppers with the right product from the right merchant at the best price anytime, anywhere.

Visit us at http://www.PriceGrabber.co.uk

Appendix

Mega Monday 2012 Top Ranking Sectors in order of popularity (UK)

1. Clothing
2. Electronics
3. Indoor Living
4. Appliances
5. Health and Beauty
6. Computers
7. Musical Instruments
8. Sporting Goods
9. Cameras
10. Toys

Top-ranked Products Overall

UK (PriceGrabber.co.uk)

*Source: PriceGrabber.co.uk data and website analytics from Dec 1st until Dec 7th 2012

1. iPad® Mini® 7.9" 16 GB Wi-Fi White tablet
2. iPad® Mini® 7.9" 16 GB Wi-Fi Black tablet
3. iPad 2® 16 GB Wi-Fi Tablet Black
4. Clarks® Airmoc® Shoes, Black
5. Barbour® Liddesdale® Quilted jacket, Navy
6. Eee PC® X101CH-BLK043S Black 10.1" Netbook
7. New iPad® 3rd Generation 16" Black Tablet
8. Barbour® Liddesdale® Quilted Jacket, Purple
9. The Elder Scrolls® V: Skyrim®
10. Barbour® Liddesdale® Quilted jacket, Olive
11. Curve® 8900 Black Smartphone Unlocked
12. FP587 Multi Pro Food Processor
13. Inspiration® 15 Black 15.6" Notebook
14. iPad 2® 16 GB Wi-Fi & 3G Tablet  White
15. One-piece Snow Leopard Unisex Original Lightweight Cotton Onesie, White
16. Essential Down Coat
17. Lumix®  DMC-TZ30 Black Digital Camera
18. 1051 CX-BLK019S 10.1" Black Netbook
19. iPad® Mini® 7.9" 32 GB Wi-Fi White
20. Woman's Akka® Long Down Jacket

US (PriceGrabber.com)

*Source: PriceGrabber.com data and website analytics from Thanksgiving 22nd Nov – Cyber Monday 26th Nov 2012

1. Latitude® ST 10.1" 32 GB Wi-Fi Black Tablet
2. Galaxy® Tab 2® 10.1" 16 GB Wi-Fi Titanium Silver Tablet
3. Galaxy® Tab 2® 7" 8 GB Wi-Fi Titanium Silver Tablet
4. Google 7® 7" 32 GB Wi-Fi Black Tablet
5. Samsung® UN46EH5000 46" LED TV
6. Google® Nexus® 7 7" 16 GB Wi-Fi Black Tablet
7. Samsung® UN32EH4003F 32" LED TV
8. Samsung® PN51E530 51" Plasma TV
9. iPad® 2 9.7" 16 GB Wi-Fi + 3G White Tablet - Verizon® Wireless
10. Mitsubishi WD-73C12 73" DLP Projection TV
11. Galaxy® Note II® Gray Smartphone - AT&T®
12. iPad® 2® 9.7" 16 GB Wi-Fi Black Tablet
13. Viera® TC-L55ET5 55" 3D 1080p LED-LCD TV - 16:9 - HDTV 1080p
14. iPad® with Retina Display 4th Generation 9.7" 16 GB Wi-Fi White Tablet
15. Samsung® UN55EH6000 55" LCD TV
16. AQUOS® LC60E69U 60 LCD TV
17. Samsung® UN40EH5300 40" LED TV
18. Insignia® - 42" Class - LED - 1080p - 60Hz - HDTV
19. Samsung® UN39EH5003 39" LED TV
20. LG 55LS4600 55" LED TV