Price comparison websites ‘are failing to turn hits into sales’

Three-quarters of people use price comparison websites when searching for financial deals but only half of these actually take out a product through them, a survey indicated yesterday.

Shoppers could spend more than £150 million online on Christmas Day for the first time this year, analysts predict.

Around 77 per cent of people said they had used one of the sites during the past six months, seven out of 10 of whom had compared different car insurance quotes through them, according to magazine Which? Money.

But half of people who had used one of the sites said they had ended up buying the product they were looking for direct from the provider, rather than through the comparison website.

Many people also said they were suspicious that price comparison websites only included products that would make them the most commission, rather than ones that offered the best deal for the customer.

Just 21 per cent of the people questioned said they trusted the sites to always find the best price available.

Overall, customers gave the different sites satisfaction ratings ranging from 47 per cent to just 38 per cent, lower than the scores achieved by many banks.

Peter Vicary Smith, chief executive officer of Which?, said: “Comparison websites are part and parcel of renewing insurance or finding new financial products so they really need to do a better job at keeping their customers happy.” Which? questioned 1,703 members during August.

Meanwhile, retailers in Britain are hoping for a last-minute Christmas sales rush as shoppers make up for delays caused by the extreme weather.

The looming VAT hike is also expected to send consumers searching for big-ticket items this month, with today predicted by payment card group Visa Europe to be the busiest ever shopping day in the UK.

Some stores have announced extended opening hours for those who have missed Christmas deadlines for online shopping.

Department store John Lewis said it expected trading to be “incredibly busy” this week.

Individual John Lewis stores had been given the option of making their own decisions to open earlier or close later to make the most of trading conditions, Mr Barford added.

Department store Selfridges said it expected trading to be “busier than ever”.