Online shopping has become so sophisticated that specialized comparison sites now give consumers an abundance of tools to track the best deals. Consumers who log on to conduct research can take advantage of detailed descriptions and peer reviews to an unprecedented degree.

A recent study by Harris Interactive found that 92 percent of shoppers conduct research online before they purchase a product, whether they buy over the Internet or at the store.

'The widespread use of the Internet as a global shopping cart has elevated the importance of product-comparison Web sites, as they have become a bridge between the in-store and virtual -shopping experience,' said Grant Whitmore, executive vice president of Consumer Guide.

With the holiday season upon us, consumers will put the growing popularity of online shopping sites to the test. According to the National Retail Federation, nearly 43 percent of consumers plan to purchase holiday gifts online, an increase of 5 percent from a year ago.

It's a two-way street for retailers and consumers. The structured content and navigational simplicity of the better sites empower consumers to get the best bang for the buck. At the same time, online retailers -- who pay fees to have their products featured on those sites -- are gravitating to these shopping engines because it puts them where the customers are.

In producing this report, we scoured the Internet for the leading comparison-shopping Web sites. We looked for interfaces that offered the best combination of features without bogging down the user with cumbersome details.

Our expectation was that we would find one or two best-to-use sites for a particular category of products, such as clothing, electronics, or vehicles. But we found that comparison-shopping sites have become so well-developed that few of them stood out as the best to use for any one product category.

Best of the Breed

One of the first online shopping-comparison sites remains one of the most reputable. Consumer Guide is an Internet mainstay, presenting product evaluations in 16 different categories, including appliances, mobile communication, sports and recreation, and television and video.

The site's design makes selecting product reviews, product pricing, buying guides, or articles as easy as pointing and clicking within a simple horizontal index bar across the top of the page. After you select a topic, a comprehensive alphabetical index appears on the rest of the page. (continued...)

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