Top 50 Third-party Shopping Sites

Website Magazine has published a list of the Top 50 "Virtual Product Shelves," i.e., third-party eCommerce sites that provide pricing comparisons, social shopping, or special deals on merchandise from participating merchants.

Says the magazine, "The top few positions on this month’s list are filled with the product-side interfaces of major search engines and large product networks like Amazon. But the real action happens further down the list. Comparison shopping engines such as Nextag.com, Bizrate.com and Shopzilla.com present major opportunities for e-commerce merchants looking to acquire more traffic and vital impressions from consumers.

"Social shopping engines and tools are also noteworthy. As social media continues its rapid rise, these resources are becoming an integral part of the online experience for researching and buying products. Kaboodle, StyleFeeder and ThisNext make their mark in shopping circles and, as a result, increasingly importance to merchants.

"Deal sites may be your best bang for the promotional buck. Pronto, DealTagger, Sortprice and Dealtime established modest followings with serious shoppers. Price-sensitive shoppers are aware of their existence, and so should you.

"It may be difficult to ensure your products appear on each and every one of these virtual product shelves, but doing so may be what makes this holiday season a festive one. "

Click HERE to see the list.