The Budget-Savvy Online Shopper’s Guide for the 2008 Holiday Season

SHERMAN OAKS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Troubled economy, recession, record unemployment…the holiday season just doesn’t seem to be starting off on the right foot. However, there is still hope for the holiday shopper, especially as Black Friday approaches! The wonderful wide web has all the resources necessary to empower shoppers and help them find holiday gifts that fit into more modest budgets. Social search engine Scour.com today unveiled its 2008 Holiday Season Online Shopper’s Guide to aid consumers in their search for cost-effective gifts saving not only money, but time and anxiety as well.

Though retail figures are down, recent reports predict an uptick in online shopping this holiday season as Americans look to save money, and take advantage of online bonuses such as free shipping, exclusive online deals, coupons, and other online-specific incentives. For those budget-savvy shoppers, there is a plethora of online resources to take advantage of as you draw up your holiday shopping list. So put down the car keys and turn on the computers as you settle down to shop with these helpful online tools:

1. Earn Rewards – Take advantage of search engines and websites that reward you for searching and shopping such as:

• MSN Search Perks – Rewards visitors that use Live Search with tickets redeemable for various prizes
• Scour – Social Search Engine that rewards users with points that are redeemable for cash ($25 VISA gift cards)
• MyPoints- Before you buy, see if you can get points for the purchases that are redeemable for other cool products and rewards

2. Sometimes a quality product will save you the most money in the long run. These are some sites that have an excellent base of user reviews and product comparisons:

• ePinions – Product reviews and prices comparison
• Amazon – Product reviews and special offers
• Buzzillions – Comparison shopping and even more reviews

3. Clip Coupons - Find additional coupon discounts and special offers with:

• CouponMountain – Offers online coupon codes and promotions
• FatWallet – Resource for online coupons and cash back offers while you surf for deals
• CurrentCodes – Focuses more on current promo codes than sales or discounts
• FreeShipping – Before you buy, always check this site for free shipping codes

“This year holiday shoppers must be more resourceful as they reexamine their budgets and lay out plans for seasonal purchases,” explains Dan Yomtobian, president and CEO of Scour.com. “Retailers are preparing for the holiday rush with money-saving promotions and online tools which will be the best way for consumers to search and take advantage of these great deals. The savings go beyond just product prices, but also save gas and consumers’ sanity during this busy of time year.”

ABOUT SCOUR.COM

Scour.com is a social search engine that bridges the gap between algorithmic and human powered search. Scour rewards people for searching, voting, commenting and referring friends. Launched in 2008, Scour was previously Aftervote.com, which was acquired by ABCSearch, an Internext Media Corp. company, in 2008. To learn more about Scour, visit www.scour.com.