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Black Friday ``Bargains'' Give Shoppers a Blue Christmas
For Immediate Release - Nov 29, 2006
PriceRunner's Annual Black Friday Shopping Study Exposes Major Holiday "Specials" as Not So Special
(
WESTLAKE VILLAGE , Calif.– Nov 29, 2006 ) — PriceRunner ( www.pricerunner.com), the comparison shopping engine owned by ValueClick, Inc. (NASDAQ: VCLK - News), today announced the results of their annual Black Friday Shopping Study, and that once again holiday shoppers can easily spend hundreds of dollars more than necessary on popular items from large retailers, despite retailers touting their prices as bargains.
The good news in this is that shoppers who missed the Black Friday Specials can still easily save on the most popular holiday products. With the holiday shopping season now in full swing, shopping comparison sites make it easier for consumers to research and compare products and prices from several leading merchants side-by-side. Based on early results from the last weekend's shopping, consumer electronics are at the top of nearly everyone's Christmas list again this year, with plasma TVs, MP3 players, laptops, digital cameras and cell phones expected to be among the most popular items.
To help consumers understand the scope of savings they can easily realize, PriceRunner studied the holiday ads from the nation's largest retailers and then compared products and prices with those found online and in other offline stores. The results yielded some very interesting insights that can save shoppers hundreds of dollars. For instance:
- A popular Philips 50PF7320A HP Plasma TV was advertised by Costco for $1,999.99, while the exact same product can be found online for only $1,645.00, an 18% and $355.00 savings.
- Another popular HD Plasma TV - the Panasonic TH-50PX60U - was advertised by CompUSA for $2,499.99, while it could be found online for only $1,845.11 - saving a whopping $655.00!
- Wal-Mart fulfilled predictions that they would slash prices on consumer electronics, exemplified by them offering the RCA 5GB MP3 player for only $88.72, over 40% lower than the lowest price found online, at $156.57.
- Consumers could save over 20% and $180.00 by buying the Canon EOS 400 Rebel XTi digital camera online at $719.00, vs. Best Buy's advertised price of $899.99.
- Holiday budgets are sure to be stretched if consumers buy their Vizio 50" P50HDTV10A HD Plasma TV from Circuit City at $1,499.99 rather than online, where the lowest price found was $1,898.00 - a nearly $400 and 21% savings.
"While a lot has been made about aggressive discounting by the major retailers this holiday season, our study clearly found that consumers can find even better deals with a minimum of effort," said Martin Andersen, General Manager of PriceRunner US. "Plus, they can be assured they are buying the right items due to the detailed specifications and product reviews that are found online at Pricerunner.com."
Comparison price chart and product details from PriceRunner's Black Friday Shopping Study are available to qualified media outlets upon request.
Note: Stated online prices do not include shipping charges.
About PriceRunner
PriceRunner is an internationally acclaimed comparison shopping engine that provides consumers with easy access to comprehensive buying information on a wide variety of products. PriceRunner aggregates product details, user and expert product reviews, retailer ratings, as well as the best available prices in one convenient location. PriceRunner distinguishes itself from other comparison shopping engines by including prices from both online and offline retailers providing consumers with the broadest price comparisons and always lists the lowest price first. PriceRunner’s goal is to provide consumers with the ability to make an informed and confident buying decision. PriceRunner is a ValueClick, Inc. company.
About ValueClick
ValueClick, Inc. (Nasdaq: VCLK) is one of the world’s largest integrated online marketing companies, offering comprehensive and scalable solutions to deliver cost-effective customer acquisition for advertisers and significant revenue for publishers. Through its individual brands, ValueClick’s performance-based solutions allow advertisers and publishers to reach their potential through all online marketing channels, including display advertising, affiliate marketing, lead generation, search, e-mail, and comparison shopping. ValueClick brands include Commission Junction, Hi-Speed Media, Mediaplex, PriceRunner, ValueClick Media, and Webclients. For more information, please visit www.valueclick.com.
* Note regarding contest: Runs nationwide excluding New York, Florida, and where prohibited by law.
This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, ValueClick’s ability to successfully integrate its recently completed Fastclick and Webclients mergers, trends in online advertising spending and estimates of future online performance-based advertising. Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted, and reported results should not be considered an indication of future performance. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements are detailed under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission made from time to time by ValueClick, including: its Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 31, 2006 and amendment to its Annual Report on Form 10-K/A filed on April 21, 2006; its current report on Form 8-K filed on February 27, 2006; recent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and Form 10-Q/A, other current reports on Form 8-K; its amended registration statement on Form S-4, filed on September 27, 2005; and its final prospectus on Form 424B3 filed on September 28, 2005. Other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the risk that market demand for online advertising, and performance-based online advertising in particular, will not grow as rapidly as predicted. ValueClick undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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