San Mateo, Calif. — Consumers pay an average of 44.2 percent more at local retail outlets than they do in online stores, according to an internal survey performed by Vendio.
The company, a provider of software to help merchants manage online transactions, performed a study where it identified a selection of popular CE products and used its Dealio comparison shopping toolbar to search for the lowest online prices for those products and then contacted five local brick-and-mortar retailers to find a representative offline price for each of those same products.
Following are some of the products surveyed and the price discrepancies Vendio found between online and offline offerings. The company noted that the prices found via Dealio reflect sales tax and shipping costs while prices found in brick-and-mortar stores do not include shipping but do reflect an 8.25 percent Calif. State sales tax.
- Panasonic PVG 5500 camcorder: Lowest online price: $613.90; Average offline price: $1,082.49
- Canon PowerShot SD550 digital camera: Lowest online price: $248; Average offline price: $324.74
- Xbox 360 videogame console: Lowest online price: $399; Average offline price: $432.99
- Panasonic TH-42PX60U 42-inch plasma TV: Lowest online price: $1,522.95; Average offline price: $1,984.58.
- Pioneer PDP-4270HD 42-inch Plasma TV: Lowest online price: $1,974; Average offline price: $2,922.74
The company says its Dealio toolbar scours the inventories of more than 100,000 online merchants to find the lowest available online price for a particular item. For more information, or to download the Vendio Dealio toolbar, visit http://www.dealio.com.
