London; November 1: Today sees the launch of Crowdstorm.com – a new online service which aims to help UK shoppers make better informed purchase decisions based on the advice and recommendations of others. The site brings together a wealth of information and expert knowledge garnered from those in the know – including bloggers, journalists and other key opinion formers. 

Users can not only browse buyers guides, expert and user reviews and product videos from around the web, but can also ask the ‘Crowd’ for advice on what they should buy. Their Crowd consists of the most knowledgeable people on the web from bloggers, experts, trusted friends and family and other users of the products.

Currently up to 88% of people conduct online research before making a purchase, (1) this figure is greater than those who actually buy products online! The internet retail market is set to rise to €117.1 billion in Europe alone by 2010. Currently this retail market is fragmented; users have to consult multiple sources to extract any relevant information search engines, retailer web sites, brand sites, customer reviews, expert reviews, shopping comparison sites, and blogs. This can often lead to a time consuming and frustrating experience, especially when different sources give differing opinions. Crowdstorm is set to alleviate these problems and barriers.

In response to this Crowdstorm has developed an online community of expert opinion formers to save the consumer time by aggregating trusted sources of product information. Anyone can get involved and give advice and in return gain expert status and kudos. As the site grows additional categories are set to include anything and everything from wines to holidays - making it a truly inclusive shopper information tool.

Based in London, Crowdstorm has a proven pedigree, developed by Philip Wilkinson, responsible for launching Kelkoo UK and founder of the UK’s first price comparison website, Shopgenie. Crowdstorm will be a one stop shop for consumers who want to save time trawling through reviews sites; in effect it brings product expertise and knowledge into one place.

Philip said: “Crowdstorm as a concept came about because we realised that everyone likes to get the inside track on a new product, but who do you ask and who can you trust, a friend, a family member? With Crowdstorm, users have a wealth of experience and knowledge at their fingertips from reviewers, bloggers, and most importantly the people who’ve just bought the product. In the near future people won’t research products on the web; they’ll ‘Crowdstorm’ it.”

To find out more and research a product please visit www.crowdstorm.com