Kelkoo claims to be Europe's biggest shopping comparison service, with more than 10 million users in the UK and presence in 10 European countries. The company was bought by Yahoo! in 2004 and then sold last December to private equity firm Jamplant.

The company lists more than three million products and services and is the third biggest shopping site after eBay and Amazon, working closely with both and other lead retailers such as Tesco.com. In March 2009 the company signed up 100 new merchants, a record for the firm in just one month.

The company’s managing director is Bruce Fair. NMK caught up with him to find out the secret of Kelkoo’s success and where the company goes from here.

What’s driving the desire for price comparison? And is it just because of the Credit Crunch?

People are giving more consideration to the cost of their purchases because they have become more conscious of where their money is going, which the Credit Crunch has brought to the fore. We’ve found that the majority of the public don’t want to change their shopping habits and have to restrict themselves during the recession but instead are more likely to shop around for the best price for a product than they did before the economy slumped. The fact that on average Kelkoo will save people 20-30 per cent on high street prices has a clear appeal.

As well as this, comparing prices and looking for better value is a part of the British psyche. For example, just think how many times you compliment a colleague or friend on something they've just bought. The chances are that within seconds you'll be discussing the price and more than often, how the buyer got a good deal on it. Price and value are very important to British people and they always have been, it is just that the Credit Crunch has heightened this need.

Even before there has been a real and growing need for shopping comparison. The growth of online retailing as a whole created a clear need for aggregation sites which can help consumers navigate the maze of shopping online. It isn't just about finding the best price, but also finding the best and most recommended retailers who have the best services and researching the best products for them.

We are also seeing people, especially men, taking much more time in researching what they buy in much greater depth and going to much greater lengths to find precisely the right products for them, as well as getting it at the right price.

Kelkoo signed up 100 new merchants in March 2009. What does one have to do to become affiliated with Kelkoo?

Merchants are currently free to list their offers on the Kelkoo.co.uk site and Kelkoo charges an agreed cost per click (CPC) to the merchant thereafter. There is an integrations team within Kelkoo who will help all merchants to develop a product feed in a compatible format. Kelkoo will then transfer that data feed into live offers on Kelkoo.co.uk. For all enquiries to list on the site, retailers should contact the Kelkoo sales team via the site.

What drives users to show loyalty towards any particular price comparison site?

Ease-of-use and performance are the basic requirements, but further to that it's about giving the best content possible so that users can get everything they need from Kelkoo. This means offering the widest range of money-saving tools, so not only price comparison but also cashback and voucher codes, which are very popular. For our customers it is also about getting access to the biggest number and the most recognisable retailers possible, so having a healthy mix of online-only brands and the more recognisable leading high street brands from Tesco and Apple to John Lewis.

All of this feeds into creating 'sticky' content, so that shoppers always leave Kelkoo with good impressions and reasons to return. This is particularly important when it comes to ease of use and the relevance of search results, but also our extra, added content such as user reviews on retailers, expert product reviews and shopping guides, so even if people visit Kelkoo not knowing exactly what they are looking for, we can help them find the best product for them.

And finally, of course, there can be no loyalty without trust. We encourage our featured retailers to sign up to the Internet Shopping is Safe (ISIS) and Internet Delivery is Safe (IDIS) schemes, so shoppers can rest assured that they're buying from a reputable, retailers who offer good levels of service.

How does a price comparison site like Kelkoo make money?

Today, Kelkoo is a free-to-list, pure performance-driven CPC model. In the future we may need to review our standard terms and conditions around set up fees for new merchants to list their offers on our site in order to cover some of our costs.

What social or new media marketing is Kelkoo involved in or planning to undertake this year?

While Kelkoo has built up an excellent brand association with shoppers through online marketing alone, we are looking to invest in offline media to draw in all potential audiences. Kelkoo is also looking to invest in email [marketing] and reviewing other new media options such as partnering with Facebook.