PriceGrabber.com, a comparison shopping site, has launched a free mobile commerce iPhone application.

The application gives consumers access to the same comparison shopping features that are on the PC Web site. Consumers can search for products and then be redirected to make purchases directly from a retailer’s site.

“We wanted to bring PriceGrabber.com’s comparison shopping experience to the consumer on the go,” said Laura Conrad, president of PriceGrabber.com, Los Angeles. “Smartphones are widely used by many consumers today and many have Web-enabled phones. 

“Consumers are using their mobile phones today for day-to-day activities including shopping instead of their laptop or their desktop,” she said. “PriceGrabber needed to have that functionality to provide its loyal user base. 

“This adds to our value proposition that we bring to our consumers and marries the online and offline experience.”

PriceGrabber.com, part of Experian Interactive, is an online comparison shopping service that sees 23 million consumers per month searching and comparing information.

The company also powers comparison shopping functionality for other sites, including Microsoft’s Bing, AOL Shopping and The New York Times Co.’s About.com.

Comparison mobile shopping
The application features more than 25 retail channels such as electronics, clothing, appliances and computers.

Consumers can shop the Internet from the application, read user-generated product reviews and create a favorites list to shop from at a later time.

Ms. Conrad said that the application brings PriceGrabber.com’s comparison shopping experience to a new demographic of mobile shoppers and that its target audience is iPhone users in general.

PriceGrabber said that this application can help consumers evaluate offline deals to ensure that they are getting the best bargain.

The application is being marketed via social media, Facebook and Twitter.

There is no ad-support in this free application. Ms. Conrad said that it is monetized through the company’s user base and the high amounts of traffic the PriceGrabber.com WAP site sees.

Mobile technology has finally reached an inflection point where the mobile Internet could be another viable consumer resource for online shopping and purchasing, according to PriceGrabber.com.

According to PriceGrabber.com’s Mobile Shopping Behavior Survey, 58 percent of American online consumers already own a Web-enabled mobile phone. Furthermore, of those consumers that own a Web-enabled mobile phone, one in 10 has bought products or services with their device (see story).

Ms. Conrad said the updated iPhone 3GS that was released in June has increased smartphone popularity among consumers.

“We expect to see many shoppers using their smartphone for their holiday shopping this year, especially when they are shopping offline,” Ms. Conrad said. “Smartphones can help consumers evaluate offline deals to ensure that they are getting the best bargain.”