Despite the lagging economy and a consumer emphasis on frugality this holiday season, electronics and big ticket items have been dominating shoppers’ online searches at SortPrice.com.

Here are some of the top results: 

Canon Digital Cameras

Garmin GPS

Nintendo Wii Systems

Lego Star Wars

Apple Ipod Touch

Samsung Plasma TVs

Elmo Live

Nintendo Wii Fit

KitchenAid Mixers

Macbook Pro

Bootie Women’s Boots

Womens Gold Watch

Ugg Boots 

We noticed several products have increased in popularity over the past year and are being targeted by consumers substantially more in 2008, including Sony Blu-Ray Disc Players, Digital Photo Frames and Garmin GPS Systems.

Consumers are being more careful and thorough with their overall shopping habits thus far, but it appears they’re continuing to target the same items—digital cameras, flat screen TVs, MP3 players, video game consoles—as in previous years.

Halloween is back! Despite the rough economic times, it’s believed the average American will spend an average of $50 to celebrate this year, making Halloween much more than just a one-day holiday.

Visit the Sortprice.com Halloween Shopping Guide
    
Shoppers are already flocking to Sortprice.com by the thousands for costumes, decorations and candy and these are just some of the popular items they’re considering:
    
Top Adult Costumes and Accessories
Batman: http://www.sortprice.com/search-CQ-Adult_Costumes-Batman
Gladiator: http://www.sortprice.com/search-CQ-Adult_Costumes-Gladiator
Indiana Jones: http://www.sortprice.com/search-CQ-Adult_Costumes-Indiana_Jones
McCain Mask: http://www.sortprice.com/search-CQ-Costume_Accessories-McCain
Obama Mask: http://www.sortprice.com/search-CQ-Costume_Accessories-Obama
Joker Mask: http://www.sortprice.com/search-CQ-Costume_Accessories-Joker_Mask

    
Top Kids Costumes
Iron Man: http://www.sortprice.com/search-CQ-Children’s_Costumes-Iron_Man
Astronaut: http://www.sortprice.com/search-CQ-Children’s_Costumes-Astronaut
Hannah Montana: http://www.sortprice.com/search-CQ-Children’s_Costumes-Hannah_Montana
Harry Potter: http://www.sortprice.com/search-CQ-Children’s_Costumes-Harry_Potter
Statue of Liberty: http://www.sortprice.com/search-CQ-Children’s_Costumes-Statue_of_Liberty

    
Popular Sexy Costumes
French Maid: http://www.sortprice.com/search-CQ-Adult_Costumes-French_Maid
Sexy Sailor: http://www.sortprice.com/search-CQ-Adult_Costumes-Sexy_Sailor
Sexy Nurse: http://www.sortprice.com/search-CQ-Adult_Costumes-Sexy_Nurse
Sexy Cop: http://www.sortprice.com/search-CQ-Adult_Costumes-Sexy_Cop

    
Popular Funny Costumes
Wheaties Box: http://www.sortprice.com/search-CQ-Adult_Costumes-wheaties
Headless Butler: http://www.sortprice.com/search-S-Headless_Butler
Frog Prince: http://www.sortprice.com/search-CQ-Adult_Costumes-Frog_Prince
Kissing Booth: http://www.sortprice.com/search-CQ-Adult_Costumes-Kissing_Booth
Chick Magnet: http://www.sortprice.com/search-CQ-Adult_Costumes-chick_magnet

Visit the Sortprice.com Halloween Shopping Guide: http://www.sortprice.com/halloween.html

The leaves are starting to change and there’s a chill in the air, which can only mean that summer is behind us and Halloween is just around the corner. Halloween has evolved into more than just a holiday. In many ways, it has become a season all to itself, with a majority of Americans indicting they plan to spend an average of almost $50 this year to celebrate. We know times are tough with a lagging economy but that doesn’t mean it should put a damper on your Halloween plans. Sortprice is the perfect resource for all of your Halloween shopping, offering you a tremendous selection on costumes, decorations, and yes, even candy. Parents, we’ve got more than 2,000 kids costumes and accessories for under $20, which means you can stretch that dollar even more this year! And as always, with “Drag & Drop” shopping and plenty of retailers to choose from, you’re guaranteed to have a good time searching for all of your Halloween goodies.

To give you a head start, here is a link to our Halloween shopping guide along with some friendly suggestions, for Halloween 2008: http://www.sortprice.com/halloween.html 

Popular children’s costumes this year include Speed Racer, Iron Man, Hannah Montana and High School Musical characters. http://www.sortprice.com/search-C-Children’s_Costumes

 From seasonal yard signs to spooky candles and outdoor lights, there are plenty of fun and affordable decorating options: http://www.sortprice.com/search-CQ-Holiday_Decorations-Halloween

Don’t forget the candy! Halloween Pez, special Halloween jellybeans, unique arrays of candy corn and more: http://www.sortprice.com/search-C-Candy

AOL recently launched on one of their blogs (Walletpop) a great post for last minute odd gift ideas. Sortprice.com was featured and my personal favorite is the USB Missile Launcher.

The full list can be found here: http://www.walletpop.com/2007/12/24/very-last-minute-oddball-gifts

The online shopping surge is an undeniable and growing reality. And, in the near term, we will see an increasing number of e-commerce sites that incorporate the social networking concept into their business models.

In fact, there are already a handful of dedicated social shopping networks that have gained a share of this phenomenon. Unfortunately, such early growth has obscured for many vendors the importance of tapping into current social networks and leveraging the power of the strong followings these have.

A fact that should be leveraged now, and also in future, is that e-commerce vendors and e-tailers alike should look first at tapping into aforementioned existing communities, particularly those such as Facebook that make it easy to build add-on applications and tools. This will allow players in the e-commerce industry to create a more valuable shopping environment for a ready-made target audience.

In addition, ensuring available tools that include feedback forums and list shares are optimized and at shoppers’ disposal is important. The future of social e-commerce relies heavily on the continued improvement and reintroduction of complementary utility tools to sustain the viability of its existence.

Finally, mobile, or m-commerce, is increasingly becoming the new digital platform. Where social networks grow here, so also does the opportunity to tap into these communities and the purchasing power of a consumer on the go.

Although social shopping is only beginning to make its mark on the web arena, its early form can be traced back to groups hanging out at the mall, where brick-and-mortar shops thrived. A large majority of people still prefer to enjoy an afternoon in a traditional setting, with friends and families in tow, browsing through store racks or simply whiling the time away. It is a bonding experience bound by common taste and enriched by shared opinions. It is an experience that relies on shared tastes and the sharing of opinions, but first and foremost, it is usually about being together.

Over the last decade, online shopping has continued to show evidence of unstoppable growth. The abundance of affordable e-commerce developmental tools has made it easier for anyone to jump online and set up shop in a short time.

On the consumer side, there are a number of reasons why people have become more comfortable with buying online, and younger generations certainly have “grown up” in this environment. That said, until recently, the social element was lacking. Shoppers went online to buy, and they mainly did so alone.

There are many exciting ideas in play and on the horizon that will take the benefits of both the offline and online world to offer a converged experience of being with friends, while buying from the location of choice. E-commerce vendors are recognizing the value of incorporating social elements into the online shopping experience to sustain interest and encourage revisits.

Familiar concepts that bring online shopping back to the social realm already include allowing shoppers to share products with each other and create wish lists, a particularly useful feature during the holiday shopping season and year round. Conversion rates are traditionally much higher when the friend of a shopper is recommending or sharing a product.

Another trend on the rise is the development of applications that allow the sharing of information among the group on shopping interests, new products, or recently purchased items. It enhances camaraderie and enriches social relations.

There’s also the direction that many different disciplines and services are headed, and that’s mobile. With mobile advertising and mobile social networks on the rise, being prepared to optimize the immediate nature and buying power of these is going to be a differentiator for e-commerce vendors in terms of who thrives and who dies.

One caution: in spite of the growth in this sector, online social shopping is still too young to have demonstrated significant areas to avoid or to have delivered best practices, and merchants should carefully consider their options before jumping in.

Make sure a positive experience is there before opening it up for comment — consumers are very conscious and diligent. Consider one complaint in a social environment. It will instantly reach everyone on a user’s network or multiple networks and be most likely to resonate coming from a friend. An unfortunate experience and the resulting commentary can immediately cut a merchant’s audience in half. Be wary also of privacy invasion, and make features clear and optional.

In conclusion, the online social shopping environment of the future is an integrated, interactive marketplace, where more and more, everyone is connected independent of their physical location or in-person communication style.

The future is an environment that allows shoppers to communicate with friends in real time and according to specified preferences. It’s dynamic and it’s mobile. When future online communities arise specifically as social shopping networks, we’ll see a great deal of interesting commentary on hot products and trends and be able to react and reach more people with new items in a faster way than ever before.

As online shopping continues to grow it’s important that web users understand how to protect themselves from digital thieves. Sortprice.com launched a great guide for online shopping safety tips to help even the most knowledgeable shopper.

This is my first test post. I hope you all enjoy!