Attention Holiday Shoppers! Foregoing Price Match Gurantees and Forfeiting Rebates Top List of Ways that Consumers Leave Money on the Table.

SAN RAMON, Calif. -- Cairo Survey Reveals Shopping and Spending Preferences Among Today's Consumers

With holiday shoppers turning out in droves to comb the malls and department stores for sales, it's rather surprising that 62 percent of adult consumers have never followed up on a retailer price guarantee or price match offer and 48 percent admit they've forfeited a mail-in rebate at least once in the past 12 months. Although shoppers are driven to stores by discounts and sales, they often don't take advantage of other "money back" offers which could put significant dollars in their pockets. Many of the shoppers who didn't follow-up on a price match guarantee indicated they didn't have time to track these offers or didn't have time to go to the store to get the refund, while those forfeiting rebates either forgot about it, lost the form or didn't bother claiming it because it was too complicated. Sponsored by Cairo, Inc., the survey takes a look at consumers' shopping and spending preferences during the holiday season.

The survey also revealed that despite the Internet's popularity, most people still prefer making in-store purchases. Although 81 percent of respondents indicated that they've made a purchase online in the past 12 months, most are not ready to purchase high-end items and holiday gifts online, preferring to buy them in-person at a store. In actuality, only 13 percent of dollars overall is spent online given that high-end items, such as appliances and electronics, require the need for consumers to touch and feel the merchandise before making the purchase. Furthermore, an overwhelming 92 percent of respondents indicated that given their preference to purchase high-end items and holiday gifts in-store, they would be interested in using an online service that helps them identify sales in local stores for the products they plan to buy.

Time Is Ripe for Local Online Comparison Shopping

Among the 69 percent of respondents indicating that they spent money on high-end items in the past twelve months, the average shopper noted they visited three stores and spent three hours in total comparing prices. Couple that with the stress and aggravation of scouring store after store searching for the perfect gift for everyone on your holiday list at the best price, and consumers have hours upon hours of shopping ahead of them. With time a precious commodity during the busy holiday season, shoppers would be grateful for a tool that helps them locate current sales information in a quick and easy manner.

"Our survey reveals that savvy shoppers who compare prices online first would save approximately 1.5 shopping trips to stores each week. Additionally, 83 percent are certain that having access to all of the pricing at stores in advance of their shopping trips would save them money," said Andy Moss, Cairo CEO. "As the holidays approach, Cairo helps these shoppers combine the price-hunting power of the Internet with the convenience of their local phone book. In as little as two clicks, they can tick through their holiday shopping list to find the best deals in town -- giving them the ultimate gift of saving precious time and money."

From Best Buy and Circuit City to JC Penny and Toys "R" Us, Cairo is a quick and easy way to find current sale prices at local retailers, ultimately helping holiday shoppers make informed purchase decisions. Because it is independent from retailers and media companies, Cairo truly represents the best sale price in a local area. In addition, Cairo Price Match(TM) lets consumers track retailer price guarantees and rebates on items they've purchased where price matching and additional savings are offered. Cairo Sales Alerts(TM) notify shoppers when items on their holiday list go on sale, cutting down on the back and forth to find the best deals to save bucks during the increasingly expensive holiday shopping season.

Research and Methodology

Conducted by Leflein Associates, Inc., the online survey polled a random sampling among a national Internet population of 1001 adults 18 years of age and older. The margin of error for the sample overall is +/- three percent.

About Cairo

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in San Ramon, California, Cairo, Inc. provides online services that help people save time and money when shopping offline at the "bricks and mortar" stores of major retail chains, such as Target, Safeway and Best Buy, within a local market. Cairo aggregates regularly published pricing and promotion information within each market, delivering price transparency across retail stores near to a consumer's zip code or street address, and applies Internet business models, such as price comparison and sponsored links, to extend online influences upon consumer shopping behaviors. In addition, Cairo enables a unique customer-centric channel for both retailers and manufacturers.