Cat Books And Ugg Boots Join iPads Among Most Wanted Holiday Gifts On ShopAdvisor Shopping App

BOSTON, Nov. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- What possibly could fuzzy cat books, furry Australian boots and a high-flying, video-capturing drone have in common?  According to ShopAdvisor, provider of a leading app and website that empowers smarter shopping online and in store, these items share bragging rights as some of the season's potentially hottest holiday gifts, joining perennial powerhouses like iPads and Xbox consoles atop shoppers' most wanted lists. 

ShopAdvisor's deep dive into its users' searches, scans and browsing of most-desired holiday products – culled from thousands of shopping sessions for more than 200 million available items – uncovered some notable trends and fun surprises.  Whereas traditional brick-and-mortar shoppers are scanning barcodes to compare prices on items spanning $1,200 camera drones to classic Crayola products, people searching the ShopAdvisor app and website for availability and best deals love their tech.  And also Ugg boots, which cracked the top 25.  

Other users through ShopAdvisor's "Shop the Magazine" feature, enabling shopping right from the pages of top magazines like Cosmopolitan, Real Simple and People StyleWatch, show the most eclectic tastes, from a coffee table book on cats to a $1,750 pendant spotted on the likes of Megan Fox.

Among key findings:

• Tech rules. The terms "iPad" and "Xbox" were among the top five category terms searched, joining generic terms like "TV" and "laptop," further affirming the Apple- and Microsoft-owned brands' dominance of their segments.
• iPad stands alone. Specific iPad models represented five of the top 10 products searched. (In descending order: iPad, iPad2, iPad3, iPadAir, iPadMini.)
• Ladies still love their shoes. Ugg products and other boots and shoes ranked among the 25 most searched products.
• Cat lovers, uniting. "The Best Cat Book Ever: Super Amazing; 100% Awesome," a tome featuring a black cat in various costumes, ranked first among magazine shoppers.
• Luxury, always in style. Two high-end items ranked in the top 10 on magazine shoppers' most wanted lists: an Aletta Leather Monk Boot ($345, from H by Hudson) and the Megan Fox-modeled Astley Clarke Large Icon Pendant ($1,750, from the Muse Collection).
• Classic toy renaissance. ShopAdvisor users who scan barcodes of products in-store for reviews and pricing put classic Crayola crayons and pencils ahead of powerhouse Disney "Frozen" items by a count of 6:1. 
• Cameras: drone- and land-based. Shoppers who scan products at the high end are showing interest in a drone that captures still images and video from high in the sky ($1,275; DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ Quadcopter Flying Camera) as well as a very pricey and specialized camera lens ($4,900; Compact Prime CP.2 50mm/T2.1 Makro Cine Lens from Zeiss).

About ShopAdvisor

ShopAdvisor lets consumers shop smarter in-store and online by providing up-to-date pricing, retailer availability, and special deals/discounts for over 200 million products.  Shoppers can save items they're interested in to be alerted when the time to buy is right, saving time and money.  When ready to purchase, shoppers can click through a link to the lowest price merchant to buy online, or find the nearest local retailer with availability. ShopAdvisor also works with over 20 magazine titles including Cosmopolitan, House Beautiful, Cooking Light and Men's Health to allow shoppers to shop directly for the products and gift ideas featured in the magazine.  

Consumers can download the ShopAdvisor mobile app for their iOS or Android device, or go to ShopAdvisor.com. The apps and web site are free. ShopAdvisor has been recognized as one of the best 100 Android apps by PC Magazine and an "App Store Rewind Best Utility App" for the iPhone.

For additional data and insights, contact Caitlin Melnick, [email protected], 617-585-5775, or Jenny Krupski, [email protected], 617-585-5762.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141119/159807

SOURCE ShopAdvisor