London – September 02^nd 2010: Early shopping for women’s winter coats reveals surprising items in the top five, with puffa jackets and ponchos both making the cut, reveals Twenga, the new-generation shopping search engine.

As women start their winter shopping, searches for women’s coats have increased by 133% over the past 30 days*. The women’s parka is the most popular, followed by the duffle coat, trench coat, puffa jacket and poncho.

Top 5 most visited women’s coats:

1. Women’s parka

2. Women’s duffle coat

3. Women’s trench coat

4. Women’s puffa jacket

5. Women’s poncho

Pink is the colour of the moment, followed by classics such as red, navy, brown and beige. For fabrics velvet leads the way, followed by wool, sheep skin, tweed and cashmere.

Users can compare almost 13,000 women’s coats on Twenga.

* Visits for all women’s coats categories for August 2010 compared with July.

London – August 31st, 2010. When choosing a fireplace in preparation for winter, Brits want real flames, top quality materials, and are willing to pay more for reduced CO2 or renewable fuels, reveals Twenga (http://www.twenga.co.uk) the new generation shopping search engine.

• Real flames over electric – The top fuel choices are gas, ethanol and wood, with no demand for electric alternatives, showing that a realistic look is vital.
• Top quality materials – The most searched for materials are granite, stone and marble, demonstrating a preference for stylish, classic, long-lasting materials.
• Reduced emissions – The rise of ethanol fires confirms an effort to reduce CO2 emissions. Coal and oil fires are now totally out of fashion.

The season is in full swing, with visits to fireplaces up 170% in the past month. Twenga compares over 9,200 fireplace products from 349 online shops.

Top Fuels            Top Materials               Top Brands

1         Gas                       Granite                           Flamerite

2        Ethanol                  Stone                              Prolectrix

3        Wood                     Marble                            Dimplex

Visits from 23rd July to 22nd August 2010, compared with the same period a month before.

New York – August 24, 2010 – Costume frenzy has taken over the whole year with children’s costumes the fifth most popular item on Twenga (http://www.twenga.com), the new-generation shopping search engine. Visits have constantly increased over the last months to reach a massive 150% surge in July.

Halloween is not the only day to dress up anymore. Ghosts, witches, vampires and other creatures of the night may have the lead in October but Disney characters from Donald Duck to Pocahontas are the most searched for children’s costumes since April. Despite being the top searched for characters, these classic icons are slowly being caught up by new popular anime heroes such as Bleach (5th place), Zelda (7th) and Totally Spies (10th).

Looking at more general themes such as Vikings, Bullfighters and Musketeers are also an easy way to find a fun outfit in just a few minutes.

Top 10 Children’s Costumes – Themes

1   Viking

2   Bulfighter

3   Jockey

4   Wolf

5   Musketeer

6   Zebra

7   Greek

8   Chinese

9   Pop Star

10   Monkey

Top 10 Children’s Costumes – Characters

1   Donald Duck

2   Pocahontas

3   Snow White

4   Bambi

5   Bleach

6   Smurfs

7   Zelda

8   Muppets

9   Michael Jackson

10 Totally Spies

Visits from July 17 to August 16 2010, compared with the previous month.

London – August 19th, 2010. Whatever the weather, with flip flops or wellingtons, British women are looking for flawless nails: nail care searches have increased by 159% over the past 30 days reports Twenga, (http://www.twenga.co.uk) the new-generation shopping search engine. Women are asking for salon results at home as visits for UV manicure lamps surged by 204%.

Here are this season nail trends:

The emphasis is on keeping fingernails healthy and strong. The most searched for nail polishes have to protect from the sun, whiten, energise, or have matte or shiny effects.

With the top 5 favourite colours being purple, coral, pink, brown and red, the trend is to dazzle with these vivid tones.

Brits are looking for hot deals online with the most popular brands on Twenga being luxury names such as Chanel, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Revlon and L’Oreal.

More than 24,800 nail polishes from 328 online shops are available on Twenga.

Top 5 Nail Polish Effects

1          Sun Protection

2          Whitening

3          Energising

4          Matte

5          Shiny

Top 5 Nail Polish Colours

1          Purple

2          Coral

3          Pink

4          Brown

5          Red

Top 5 Nail Polish Brands

1           Chanel

2           Dior

3           Yves Saint Laurent

4           Revlon

5           L’Oreal

Visits from 15th July to 14th August 2010, compared with same period a month before.

London – August 12th, 2010. Searches for Ping golf clubs rose dramatically after Louis Oosthuizen (winner) and Lee Westwood (runner-up), who both use Ping clubs, dominated the 2010 British Open in July. Twenga, the next-generation shopping search engine, reveals that visits for Ping golf irons are up 427% over the last 30 days. Brits are clearly influenced by their sporting heroes whilst shopping online as Ping irons and wedges became the most sought-after clubs.

This trend can be backed-up with Nike lying in bottom place of the top five most popular golf club brands on Twenga as Tiger Woods, who is sponsored by Nike, missed the Open cut and continues to struggle with his swing.

Top Golf Club Brands on Twenga:

1. Ping

2. Taylormade

3. Callaway

4. Mac Gregor

5. Nike

Visits from 9th July to 8th August 2010, compared with same period a month before.

New York – August 9, 2010 – As expected, visits for back-to-school supplies are booming on Twenga, (http://www.twenga.com) the next-generation shopping search engine, with a 154% average increase over the last 30 days. For a stress-free start, parents are shopping online: pencil cases are up by 333%, followed by chalkboards up by 292%, school backpacks up 262%, protractors up 204% and school bags up 200%.

From early childhood to college, the school backpack remains a star item and here are September 2010’s trends:

Most looked for criteria are clearly depending on styles, as “trendy” and “vintage” backpacks are the most popular. For the youngest students, Disney’s characters are as ever popular with Toy Story backpacks for boys and Tinkerbell backpacks for girls.

The Top 5 brands Twenga users are searching for are Ed Hardy, Miquelrius, Dakine, Volcom and Samsonite.

Back to School supplies                Percentage increase in visitors in a month

Pencil case                                       333%

Chalkboard                                       292%

School backpack                              262%

Protractor                                         204%

School bag                                       200%

Rank           Top 5 School backpack criteria

1                      Style: Trendy

2                      Style: Vintage

3                      Character: Toy Story

4                      Character: Tinkerbell

5                      Character: Cinderella

Rank            Top 5 School backpack brands

1                       Ed Hardy

2                       Miquelrius

3                       Dakine

4                       Volcom

5                       Samsonite

Visits from July 3 to August 2 2010, compared with the previous month.

London – August 5th, 2010. UK consumers are shopping for back to school kit already, as rising prices make comparing the best deals essential, reveals Twenga (http://www.twenga.co.uk), the next generation search engine. Visits to www.twenga.co.uk for calculators are up 850%, academic diaries are up 455% and school bags are up 307%, with a month to go before term starts.

Twenga research* shows that the average basket of school supplies costs £195 this year, 30% more than in 2009. But the average bargain basket is over £100 cheaper, at £94. Consumers can make huge savings by comparing online for the best deal.

Back to school supplies                   Percentage increase in visits in a month

Calculator                                            850%

Academic diary                                   455%

School bag                                          307%

Chalkboard                                          220%

School rucksack                                  203%

Children’s desk                                   96%

Visits from 2nd July to 1st August 2010, compared with same period a month before

*Twenga’s school supplies research

On 21st June, Twenga released its annual school supplies price study. It showed that a standard basket of school supplies costs £195 in 2010, compared to £153 in 2009, a dramatic rise of 30% during a time of shrinking household budgets.

The study was based on a basket of 16 standard supplies such as pencils, pens, erasers, notebooks, etc. It analysed the price of 181,446 back to school products for pupils in the UK, France and Germany and it shows:

• a regular price of £195 – this is an average price, technically the median price – which rose by 28% since 2009.
• a bargain price of £94 – this is the price of the bottom 25% of products, technically the first quartile figure – which rose by 29% from the 2009 price.

The marked difference between the average price and the bargain price shows that UK consumers should search carefully for the best deal before next term.

British prices are far higher than on the continent: in Germany the regular price is £130 and in France it costs just £99.

In just one month, visits to baby play mats rocketed 297%, baby walkers rose 129%, and baby gyms were up 116%. While the big classics such as baby mobiles and rattles remain popular, searches are growing much more slowly for these during the usual summer baby toy surge. Rattles were up only 98% and baby mobiles just 87%.

Toy for newborns       Percentage increase in visits in a month

Baby play mat              297%

Baby walker                129%

Baby gym                    116%

Rattle                           98%

Baby mobile                87%

Visits from 27th June to 26th July 2010, compared with same period a month before

The perfect baby shower gift

For baby gyms, the most searched for material is wood, with Winnie the Pooh the favourite theme for 2010. The most popular brands for play mats and baby gyms are Fisher Price, Galt, Mamas and Papas, Tiny Love and Taf Toys.

Top baby gym and playmat brands

Fisher Price

Galt

Mamas and Papas

Tiny Love

Taf Toys

New York – July 26, 2010 – Summer time means sandals, flip flops and open toe pumps and therefore, flawless nails: searches for nail polish surged by 179% in the past 30 days on Twenga, (http://www.twenga.com) the next-generation shopping search engine. Also visits on UV Manicure Lamps are up by 850%, Electric Nail Files by 283% and Nail Care by 380%.

Here are this season’s trends:

With fushia, blue and red in the top 5 favorite colors, women are looking to get a party look for this summer. And as always classic beige and translucent shades are still very popular for the everyday working outfits.

Most looked for brands on Twenga are the trusted Chanel, Rimmel, OPI, Mary Kay and Rosy.

Rank             Top 5 Nail Polish Colors            Top 5 Nail Polish Brands

1                   Fushia                                              Chanel

2                   Blue                                                  Rimmel

3                   Beige                                                OPI

4                   Red                                                   Mary Kay

5                   Translucent                                       Rosy

Visits from 21 June to 22 July 2010, compared with the previous month.

Visits to cross trainers were up 171%, with rowing machines up 142%, and exercise bikes up 128%. Some online shoppers are clearly willing to brave a last-minute workout during July’s heatwave to get fit for summer.

Fitness Equipment                  Rise in visits

Cardio rider                                +257%

Cross trainer                              +171%

Rowing machine                        +142%

Exercise                                    +128%

Visits from 20th June to 19th July 2010, compared with same period a month before.

The most popular brands for fitness equipment are Reebok, V-fit, York, Olympus and Body Sculpture. For cross trainers and exercise bikes, the most searched for criteria was fold-away.

Top Fitness Equipment Brands

Reebok

V-fit

York

Olympus

Body Sculpture