Shopping Comparison is growing in popularity across the web.  More TV ads are promoting "comparison" service websites where you can check the prices for a wide range of products from different suppliers in one place.  With people more aware of what they are spending the number of users to these sites is increasing. 

Google Product Search (formerly "Froogle") is Google’s way to compare the prices of products from suppliers and presents results not only on the Google Product Search site but also as shopping results for some searches within the main Google Search tool.

Recent research has shown that Google Product Search, which is fed by Google Base, has seen the number of unique visitors using the service growing exponentially.  In November 2008, 786% more unique visitors used Google Product Search to compare product prices than the same month in 2007.  Yahoo Shopping is still the most commonly used Shopping tool on the web but the level of users on the Yahoo Shopping service in November 2008 was equal to the same month in 2007, showing no growth in the use of their service.  Given Google’s levels of growth it probably won’t be long until Google are leading the way in Shopping Comparison!

If you run an online shop that allows users to buy your products on the web, why not set up a Google Base submission for the site?  In terms of SEO, getting another listing and another way your potential visitors can find you can only be good.  With more people shopping around for the best price on products at the moment, being able to show your products in comparison to your competitors can only be good, particularly if you have special January offers on at the moment.