It's "Christmas in July" at GetPrice.com.au as online shopping booms
 
iPhone, hair straighteners and king-sized-beds the most searched for items as consumers rush online for value during economic downturn
 
The online comparison shopping sector recorded bumper traffic flows in July as consumers searched for bargains during the economic downturn, according to GetPrice.com.au's managing director, Chris Hitchen.
 
Mr Hitchen said despite the Westpac consumer sentiment survey recording a substantial drop in consumer confidence and a NAB business survey recording a similar drop in business confidence, traffic was substantially up during July on GetPrice.com.au.
 
"Consumers have figured out that the best prices can be found online via comparison shopping sites such as GetPrice.com.au," he said.
 
GetPrice.com.au's July shopping index found:
 
-          The items with the biggest price differences on GetPrice.com.au included the Nokia E65 Mobile Phone ($363 difference in price), Ralph Lauren's Romance 100ml EDP Women's Perfume ($65), Apple's iPod Nano 8GB Media Player ($122) and the ASUS PC 4G laptop ($191)
-          Some of the biggest price drops on GetPrice.com.au this month were Lenovo's ThinkPad T61 Laptop ($800 drop in price), Samsung's SGHJ750 Mobile Phone ($63) and the Sharp 52inch LCD Television ($700)
-          Geographically the biggest GetPrice.com.au users and most savvy online shoppers - per capita - are the Queenslanders followed by Western Australia, Tasmania and Victoria
 
Mr Hitchen said GetPrice.com.au was also detecting a new phenomenon – price envy.
 
"When your friend tells you he or she bought the same item for $300 less than you paid, a bit of envy creeps in and perhaps a bit of regret, especially in tighter economic times," he said.
 
"As consumers become savvier by getting online, price envy is becoming the latest take on 'keeping up with the Joneses'.
 
"We're saying to consumers affected by price envy, 'don't get mad, GetPrice'!"
 
He said the most searched items on GetPrice.com.au in July were iPhones, hair straighteners and king-sized-beds.
 
"The iPhone frenzy has hit GetPrice.com.au in a big way, curly hair seems to be out of fashion and perhaps the cold winter weather is obviously encouraging people to stay in bed for longer leading to an upsurge in demand for king-sized-beds," he said.