Retail News Update

With online shopping at its peak this week, an Internet alert called Jungleninja is helping holiday shoppers quickly find the best deals being posted by Amazon.ca.

As its unique name suggests, at www.jungleninja.com a ninja monkey stalks the Amazon.ca jungle 24 hours a day, constantly looking for discounted products. The site is updated automatically when any Amazon item is reduced by 20 per cent or more.

Consumers can organize these discounted products using selection criteria that sort results by sales rank, percentage of savings, price or title.

“Shopping on Amazon is really like a cyber jungle with huge discounts hidden all over the site,” said Evan Falk, a Web developer in Winnipeg, Manitoba. “With the economic downturn, my colleagues and I created this free alert so consumers, including ourselves, could find the best bargains fast.”

With a simple click, shoppers can instantly view thousands of deeply discounted items on Amazon.ca – like Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac. Originally listed at $629.99, the Amazon price is $319.99, giving consumers a whopping 49 per cent discount. Other bargain prices include a 40 per cent discount for a 12-inch Aluratek Digital Photo Frame. From books to DVDs, music and electronics, Jungleninja does the searching for price-conscious shoppers this holiday season.

Online shopping is a growing trend, with Statistics Canada reporting last month that sales increased by 61 per cent from 2005 to 2007. More than one-third of all Canadians over the age of 16 now purchase items through the Internet.