Comparison Shopping Site ShopWiki hopes to become a destination

[mandy]

Ad-supported shopping search site ShopWiki hopes to do what many established shopping comparison engines have failed to do: become a destination site rather than a link from a general search engine. As evidence of its worthiness, the newly redesigned points to its social features and the banishment of affiliate sites, the intermediaries that have flooded online product searches for years, from its search results. But as the likes of Google and Yahoo display greater commitments to working directly with merchants, the future of online shopping and the roles played by shopping search sites, comparison sites and affiliate sites is uncertain.

This year's holiday shopping season might provide some indication of comparison engines' prospects. According to a new Advertising.com report, over half of those surveyed will spend as much or more online this year than they did last season.

"As noisy as the space is, the fact that a lot of sites have been around for as long as they have and still don't have the brand loyalty…speaks to the fact it's a relatively underserved area,"...

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