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Online Shoppers Trust in the Internet for Home Furniture and Appliance Purchases

LOS ANGELES, May 6 PRNewswire — PriceGrabber.com(R), a part of Experian, examines home furniture and appliance online shopping trends in the latest Consumer Behavior Report, based on a survey of 1,945 online consumers conducted in late March 2008 and compared with a similar survey of 1,417 online consumers conducted in August 2006. In the March survey, 53 percent of respondents indicated that Web sites are their primary source for researching products and merchants for their next major home product purchase.

Consumers do their homework

With the availability of comparison shopping sites and product review sites, consumers are spending more time researching to ensure they find the right product at the right price. Eighty-one percent of respondents say they research online prior to purchasing home furniture and major appliances. Of that, 31 percent indicate that they purchase those products they researched. Additionally, the right price continues to be a primary factor in purchase decisions, as 43 percent of respondents cite more competitive prices as the main reason to purchase these big-ticket items online. PriceGrabber.com offers users a unique experience of merchant and user reviews in addition to low prices.

Trusting that what you see is what you'll get

Traditionally, consumers preferred to "touch and feel" major home products prior to purchasing, as shown in the August 2006 survey, where 70 percent of respondents indicated that as the main reason they would not make a major home product purchase online. In the more recent survey, consumers exhibited more trust in the Internet, with only 56 percent indicating that same concern as the primary reason to not make a major home product purchase online. While consumers' concerns with seeing the product in person, unease with online merchants' customer service and the fear of making large online purchases have all decreased since the 2006 survey, concern about the price of home delivery has grown. Merchants can ease reluctance by offering deals on home delivery. Seventy-two percent of consumers say that free home delivery would increase the probability they would make a major home product purchase online.

PriceGrabber.com will continue to track online shopping trends and market shares in the coming months. To view the full Consumer Behavior Report, which also includes additional statistics from both surveys and information on the traffic of PriceGrabber.com's Indoor and Outdoor Living Channels, please visit http://mr.pricegrabber.com.

About PriceGrabber.com

PriceGrabber.com, part of Experian Interactive(SM), has established itself as one of the most trusted and effective online comparison shopping services, allowing approximately 26 million consumers each month to search and compare information that enables them to find the right product from the right retailer at the best price. Through continued innovation and a consistent focus on providing the best comparison shopping experience on the Internet, PriceGrabber.com provides savvy shoppers access to millions of unique products and services from thousands of retailers and sellers in 23 product channels. The company also powers comparison shopping functionality for a network of leading Internet sites, including MSN Shopping, AOL Shopping, About.com, iVillage Comcast and CNET. The company offers comparison shopping in English (at http://www.pricegrabber.com), Spanish (at http://www.preciomania.com) and Portuguese (at http://www.precomania.com) as well as international sites in Canada and the United Kingdom.

PriceGrabber.com is headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif. PriceGrabber is a registered trademark, and PriceGrabber.com and BottomLinePrice are trademarks of PriceGrabber.com, Inc., a Delaware corporation. Other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About Experian

Experian(R) is a global leader in providing information, analytical and marketing services to organizations and consumers to help manage the risk and reward of commercial and financial decisions. Combining its unique information tools and deep understanding of individuals, markets and economies, Experian partners with organizations around the world to establish and strengthen customer relationships and provide their businesses with competitive advantage. For consumers, Experian delivers critical information that enables them to make financial and purchasing decisions with greater control and confidence. Clients include organizations from financial services, retail and catalog, telecommunications, utilities, media, insurance, automotive, leisure, e-commerce, manufacturing, property and government sectors.

Experian Group Limited is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. It has corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, and operational headquarters in Costa Mesa, Calif., and Nottingham, UK. Experian employs approximately 15,500 people in 36 countries worldwide, supporting clients in more than 65 countries. Annual sales are in excess of $3.8 billion.

For more information, visit the Group's Web site on http://www.experiangroup.com.

Experian and the marks used herein are service marks or registered trademarks of Experian Information Solutions, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link. Ron LaPierre http://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=73518

SOURCE PriceGrabber.com

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