LONDON, October 1 /PRNewswire/ -- New research into consumer views about online shopping have been compiled by PriceRunner.co.uk, the UK's most comprehensive and impartial price comparison service. The research has shown that reviews of products and companies on websites are rated more highly (98%) than recommendations from friends (88%), and that the brand name is just as important as the product price.

The company invited 2,100 of its users to give an insight into their purchasing habits and to find out which factors are important to them during the buying process.

The research examined what considerations are important to consumers when shopping online, ranging from whether consumers are influenced by a product's eco-friendly credentials or whether the product's price, delivery options and the returns policies available influences their decision, as well as which retailers to buy from.

The purchasing journey

When carrying out initial research into purchasing a product, 70% of consumers felt that good consumer ratings were quite important to the initial purchase decision, with just 2% of people naming consumer ratings as the least important aspect. However, when choosing a product, over half (54%) of consumers felt that advice from a friend was not very important or the least important factor. This data suggests that when it comes to online shopping, consumers are almost four times more likely to rely on online reviews from strangers, (20% believe this to be the most important factor) than advice from a friend (6%).

Price still plays a large factor in selecting the right product, the majority of consumers (96%) said price had some importance to their product choice and 64% felt it was the most important factor. Only 4% of consumers felt that price was not very important to their product choice and over half (52%) of consumers now factor in how environmentally friendly a product is before purchasing it, although there is room for improvement as 15% of consumers stated this was the least important aspect to them.

Once consumers have selected their product, 61% will be more inclined to click through to a retailer that is listed as having the lowest price. And, 54% say that it is quite important that the retailer they choose is one which they are already familiar with. After selecting a retailer, 42% of consumers said that whether the product was in stock for delivery was very important to their final purchasing decision. However, even if the product is in stock, 49% of consumers felt that unless information about product including warranties, returns, and price of delivery are clearly stated they might not complete the purchase.

Mattias Berg, Managing Director, PriceRunner.co.uk, comments, "Trust in online retailers is at an all time high, with consumers buying online spending a record GBP4.2bn in February 2008 alone.** Given how that number is continually increasing, it is particularly interesting to see the growing importance of user and expert reviews of products starting to challenge the more traditional methods of marketing."

He continues, "It is important to know what our consumers factor in when they are shopping online so that we can provide the best offers for our users and therefore increase conversions for our retailers. What better way to find out exactly what they like and dislike than to ask them directly?"

** Source, IMRG

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. UK brand offerings include:

- ValueClick Media - global online advertising network and ad sales for advertisers and publishers - Commission Junction - world's largest affiliate marketing - PriceRunner - the UK's most comprehensive and impartial price comparison service - Mediaplex - intelligent technology for digital marketing, including adserving, email marketing, tracking and paid search bid management.

For more information, please visit http://www.valueclick.co.uk.

This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the risk that market demand for on-line advertising in general, and performance based on-line advertising in particular, will not grow as rapidly as predicted, and the risk that legislation and governmental regulation could negatively impact the Company's performance. 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, but not limited to: its annual report on Form 10-K filed on March 1, 2007; recent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q; and other current reports on Form 8-K. 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.

Contact Details ValueClick Europe Lisa Hancox Celia Dixon European PR Manager UK PR Executive Tel: +44(0)20-8785-5835 Tel: +44(0)20-8785-5849 Email: lhancox@valueclick.com Email: cdixon@valueclick.com

Contact Details: ValueClick Europe: Lisa Hancox, European PR Manager, Tel: +44(0)20-8785-5835, Email: lhancox@valueclick.com; Celia Dixon, UK PR Executive, Tel: +44(0)20-8785-5849, Email: cdixon@valueclick.com