Shoppers turn to net to bag bargains

By Jennifer Hill, Personal Finance Correspondent

LONDON (Reuters) - Shopping online is nothing new, but a growing band of savvy consumers are tapping into a new breed of Internet services to get the best deals on everything from washing machines to lingerie.

Cash-back sites and so-called aggregators, which compare prices at the click of a mouse, are delivering a major boost to online shopping traffic.

The relative merits of shopping online as opposed to the high street are bountiful: consumers' top 10 reasons for shopping over the Internet include price competitiveness, more choice, avoiding crowds and ease of price comparison, according to a recent poll of 2,343 panel members of consumer group Which?

Cost savings can be substantial. Five popular items -- a flat-screen television, camera, camcorder, hi-fi and DVD recorder -- can be snapped up online for more than 1,000 pounds less than at high street retail outlets, according to Which?

Finding the cheapest prices has never been easier since the rise of the aggregators -- Kelkoo.co.uk, Shopping.com, Pricerunner.co.uk and the like.

These sites attract millions of consumers with the promise of searching the market to find them the cheapest deals on everything from car insurance to gas and electricity.

Although their impartiality is questionable -- many levy varying levels of commission for "click-throughs", applications, quotes or product sales, giving them a vested interest in plugging one provider over another -- they take much of the legwork out of scouring the market.

Now, comparison portals for consumers goods and services -- electrical items, clothing, even holidays -- is experiencing a similar boom as shoppers recognise the growing capability of aggregators, which can save users 15 to 20 percent on high street prices.