Use Of Price Comparison Websites Surge - Grocery Comparison Up 60% YOY

New Zealand price comparison company NZ Compare, has today reported visitors across their websites increasing by tens of thousands in the last three months. Overall site visits are up 11% versus the same time last year as ever more struggling Kiwis look to reduce their cost of living as price increases hit on broadband, power, fuel, mortgage payments and groceries.

Asked about the increase in users to their sites, Gavin Male, NZ Compare CEO said, "The cost of living in New Zealand just keeps rising at the moment, so we’re glad to see more Kiwis discovering our services to help them save on their household bills and compare prices on everything from broadband to cheese!"

According to Stats NZ, food prices were 7.4 percent higher in July 2022 compared with July 2021 and when asked about the price rises Male said, " FoodMe.co.nz is our grocery price comparison website and it is the site that has seen the biggest percentage increase in traffic over the last month or two. Price rises on groceries have really started to hit Kiwis in the pocket as the effects of inflation bite and we’re glad to help with FoodMe, even if it is one of our services that we desperately need to develop further. Unfortunately for us, resource and financial constraints have limited the speed at which we can improve the site, but we’re getting there!"

In addition to inflating grocery prices, the last month or two has seen a large number of households across New Zealand hit with an increase on their broadband bill. The three largest providers, Spark, Vodafone and 2degrees all announced increases on their fibre and copper broadband plans.

"Back in June we heard that Spark were increasing prices and we warned that other broadband companies were very likely to follow suit. As predicted, those price hikes have been announced and most are hitting your bills in September, with an increase of between $3 to $6 a month, so up to $72 a year. Switching broadband and power provider is relatively simple and can save a household hundreds of dollars a year so it’s frustrating seeing people pay may than they need to, when so many families are struggling to make ends meet. Independent price comparison websites like NZ Compare are here to help. We make it easier for consumers to make an informed choice on the goods and services they buy and if you are a bit confused by the process you can give our team a call and they will walk you through it." Male said.

There is no cost for users to access any of the NZ Compare websites and the company reports more than 340,000 visitors used their services in August. That number is forecast to grow further in the run up to Christmas and as more people discover what NZ Compare offer to help stretch your money a little further.

Asked about plans for the future, Male said, " We created NZ Compare to help Kiwis make a fully informed choice on all of their purchase decisions. Whilst we’re not the biggest company, we have big plans. We’ve never received any external financial investment but with current user growth and the increasing opportunities we are seeing both here in NZ and overseas, we are now actively looking to change that and seeking investors to drive growth and development in the business".

"NZ Compare has been operating for over 5 years in New Zealand and has seen consistent growth in that time, including being named in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 APAC Ranking in 2019. We’re hoping to raise up to $1m to help fully resource the current websites, facilitate new product launches and continue expansion into overseas territories. Simply put, we're selling shares in our company to raise the money that will help us to develop new services and get our products in front of more Kiwis. The more people in New Zealand who know about NZ Compare, and price comparison websites, the more money we can save households to help them live better lives." Male said.

About NZ Compare

NZ Compare ( www.nzcompare.com), operate a suite of comparison websites in New Zealand to help Kiwis make a fully informed choice on their broadband, power, financial products and online purchases. NZ Compare sites are used by over 300,000 Kiwis every month and offer quick and easy online tools to check prices, features and options to help you find the most suitable products for your particular needs.

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