The modern market offers a wide range of products and services, making it challenging for consumers to find the best price. In such cases, price comparison websites can be a great help. From a consumer’s perspective, the convenience of using price aggregators depends on several factors. In order to identify the differences between various web resources in this field, it is most effective to examine specific examples. This article compares five well-known European price comparison services with two sites from developing European countries.
When analyzing price aggregators, it is important to compare not only their general search capabilities but also the products they offer in the same categories. For this purpose, we can take the automotive and electronics sections as an example. Analyzing these two categories separately can give us a more objective assessment of how convenient these services are to use.
Let’s start by analysing price comparison services using the Idealo project, which covers some of the largest European countries, including Germany, France, Italy, the UK, and Spain. For this example, let’s take a look at the German version of the price comparison service.
The title page of the website is not cluttered with unnecessary information, and all products are organized into 10 categories, making it easy to navigate through them using visual icons. It is worth noting that, in addition to typical product categories (electronics, fashion, children’s products, etc.), Idealo offers a service for purchasing airline tickets, but this service is only tangentially related to the main functionality of the website.
The notification sending tool is equally useful, as it can be customized to specific percentages of potential discounts. Idealo also provides a list of the key advantages and disadvantages of each product in a convenient format.
Despite the successful development of product sections, the implementation of specific product cards seems to be less than perfect. For instance, a link to the specifications of a conventional smartphone is hidden in an unremarkable line of text, so that users have to spend time carefully reading through the description in order to find it. This link can only be identified by its color.
Moreover, within the sections, the output is slightly overloaded with too much information. The search filters, although detailed, are not suggested to the user, which can make it challenging to find a product with desired features.
Another equally serious disadvantage is the need to register on the site in order to perform tasks such as adding products to favorites and comparing characteristics. This may be seen by users as difficulty in achieving their goal, and the service risks losing a portion of its customer base.
Main advantages:
- Advanced notification system.
- Detailed product information in cards.
- Seller ratings are available.
- Convenient product selection options in some sections.
Main disadvantages:
- Within the sections, the content is somewhat overburdened with excessive information.
- No tooltips in the filters.
- Many additional features are only available after authorization.
E-Katalog is a product selection service that has been operating successfully since 2001. It primarily serves the market in Ukraine, while also being represented in Poland, the UK, the USA, and Kazakhstan.
The interface of the website’s homepage features a tile-based design, which makes it easy to navigate. On the homepage, users can immediately see the most popular products, which simplifies the process of finding what they need.
Particular focus should be placed on the section with useful articles and product selection recommendations. This section provides information about various product categories, their features, and tips for choosing the best option. It assists users in making an informed decision and purchasing a product that meets their needs and expectations.
If we have a closer look at the mobile phone section, we can see that each user will immediately notice the variety of search filters available. The thoroughness of the service extends to including a search for specific filters, and for each point there is detailed information on what it means in practical terms.
The prices on the website are presented not only in the lowest range, but also in the whole range of available options. For laptops, product lines are conveniently organized, and below there is a list of all available modifications with different components. For specific models of car tires, there is a quick selection of the closest suitable sizes available. There are links to informative articles and a whole block on the right where the entire manufacturer’s range is listed for easy access.
In order to avoid paying too much for a product and getting caught up in “illusionary” promotional offers, you can access graphs of price changes. These graphs are plotted for both the entire period of a product’s sales and in relation to demand. You can also see the dynamics of changes in the number of offers in stores.
To better meet the needs of its users, the E-Katalog website could benefit from some additional features. For instance, it would be helpful to have discount vouchers or coupons available for users to save money when purchasing products. Additionally, it would be beneficial for buyers to receive notifications when prices change or when items go on sale, so they can stay up-to-date with current offers. Furthermore, the absence of seller ratings can make it challenging for users to assess the reliability and quality of a seller’s service.
The only information that E-Katalog provides is the date when the shop joined the platform, which indicates how many years ago they began their partnership with E-Katalog. While this can provide some insight into the seller’s reliability, it is not a definitive indicator of their overall reputation.
Main advantages:
- Overall usability at an intuitive level.
- Extensive search filters with tooltips..
- Convenient favorites lists and product comparison tables.
- Detailed descriptions and helpful articles.
Main disadvantages:
- Notifications regarding price changes and product availability are not provided.
- No promotional offers or discount coupons.
- No seller ratings.
Ceneo is the largest Polish price comparison service, which for almost 20 years of its existence has been able to prove its competitiveness and enter all European markets. Despite its long history, the resource looks very modern.
Speaking about the advantages of this site, it’s worth noting that the homepage welcomes users not only with a search bar, but also with free delivery coupons, which can be a nice bonus when making a purchase. Additionally, like the Ideao project mentioned above, this site has added visual icons next to section names for easier product searching. It’s also worth noting that blocks displaying prices for selected products include information about seller ratings, allowing buyers to choose reliable and trustworthy stores. Finally, another feature of the site is a product search map, which allows users to quickly find the nearest store with desired items and estimate distance, saving time.
The product descriptions on Ceneo.pl contain marketing text with colorful images. While this technique successfully catches the attention of potential customers, it does not fully reflect the true state of the product.
Compared to similar services, Ceneo lacks search filters as the sections mainly cover only the main features of products. However, this shortcoming is compensated for by the abundance of information provided to the buyer at various points, which makes it clear what type of filter it is and its significance.
The current system for comparing products within a single category is not intuitive, and certain features, such as access to price history, require authorization on the website before they can be used.
Main advantages:
- Discount coupons and promotional offers are available..
- Seller ratings are available.
Stores are shown on a map.
Main disadvantages:
- The text in product descriptions is purely for marketing purposes.
- Unintuitive product comparison.
- Certain features are only available after authorization..
Let’s take a look at the British price comparison service, Pricerunner. At the moment, the site is operated under the umbrella of a large company, Klarna Group, which acquired it in 2022. The service is available in the UK, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.
The site uses a popular method with a tiled layout of popular sections on the homepage, where discount offers are grouped in a separate section. This interface of the homepage is very popular and is appreciated by users for its convenience.
However, a flaw that is almost immediately noticeable is that many pages have an excessive number of intrusive contextual ads located on the right side of the screen. This can lead to a decrease in the user’s ability to efficiently perceive information and, as a result, a deterioration of the overall user experience.
One of the most notable features of the website is the presence of individual shop pages, where all the offerings from a selected seller are displayed. The convenience of searching is provided by the search filters by category.
To make it easier for users to select products within different categories, a wide range of filters are provided with helpful hints. This allows users to quickly find the right product among the many options. Some textual descriptions are also integrated directly into the product suggestion block.
For example, when selecting a laptop, users can compare different models based on various criteria. This enables them to choose the laptop that best meets their needs.
However, despite all the advantages, there are some disadvantages in the implementation of certain sections. For instance, the product cards in the tire section seem to be quite sparse. The useful information is mostly concentrated under a block with shop offers, which can make it challenging to find the information you need and complicate the product selection process.
Main Advantages:
- A wide range of search filters, including helpful hints.
- Individual seller pages.
- Convenient favorites lists and product comparison tables.
Main disadvantages:
- A significant amount of intrusive contextual advertising is present.
- Some sections lack sufficient information in product card descriptions.
- The presentation of price offers is not user-friendly.
Conclusion
Price comparison services are an essential part of today’s consumer landscape, providing users with valuable information about prices for products and services from different sellers, helping them make informed purchasing decisions. These platforms offer time and cost savings, a wide range of options, and the ability to compare prices and choose the best deal among competitors. By using price comparison services, users can make their lives easier and make more informed purchasing decisions.
However, consumers face the challenge of finding the best price comparison service. In this article, we analyzed several resources to identify the most suitable option. None of the services reviewed could be considered perfect. For example, E-Katalog lacked seller ratings and notifications, Ceneo’s website needed to expand its selection with more filters, Pricerunner and Compari could improve their overall experience by adding more features for buyers, and Idealo should reduce the amount of information displayed when presenting products in a list in different sections. On Klarna, it’s worth focusing on product descriptions. On Tweakers, it would be desirable to modernize the design and offer a broader range of products. Some services need to make qualitative changes to improve the user experience, while others need a more targeted approach. These issues are not critical because, in general, these sites offer enough tools for a comfortable selection of products. Therefore, when approaching the choice of a price comparison service consciously, the consumer can find the most suitable option for themselves.
