How convenient would it be to have one website where you can compare prices between all South African airline companies? And, when the need arises, between a wide array of consumer goods and services?
As far Daniel Martins is concerned, that website has just turned into reality.
Martins, marketing manager for newly launched price-comparison engine hotprice.co.za, told the Mail & Guardian Onlinethat when you are looking for the best flight deals, “you should just search for a flight with us and get results from all the major and low-cost carriers displayed in one place, so that you can compare prices”.
The website also aims to be a price-comparison engine on a wide range of other online products and services. Consumers can compare anything from cellphones and building supplies to GPS devices and security services.
“And in the near future,” Martins adds “we have plans to add comparisons on mortgages, for example, or where to get your daily cheapest shopping trolley.
“Consumers can search for products they are interested in and make an informed decision on whether to purchase online or from a physical store. It also takes variables, such as the lowest price and what is most convenient to the consumer, into consideration.”
However, when the M$G Online tried to retrieve the cheapest flight to any given domestic destination, the comparison engine didn’t actually come up with the most inexpensive alternative.
Asking the comparison tool to extract the cheapest option for a round-trip Johannesburg to Cape Town flight over the Freedom Day weekend, it came up with a R2Â 935 kulula.com option.
Obviously, booking one day ahead of a public holiday isn’t cheap to begin with, but when checking the tariffs on the Mango airlines website, the M&G Online was able to book a return flight for R1Â 998. When we tried a variety of other destinations, Mango remained the cheapest option but was not picked up by the comparison engine.
Martins responded by saying that the website is still in the beta phase (development stage), but that Mango will definitely be present in the comparison tool.
“By the end of [Thursday] it should all be working fine. We are just experiencing some programming issues. But I can wholeheartedly guarantee that it should be up and running by [Friday].”
Although some of the products can’t be compared properly at present due to missing price tags and descriptions, Martins is determined that the website will be successful. “We want hotprice.co.za to become better than all the other comparable websites out there.”
He added that the website “is well on its way to becoming a single source for viewing a wide variety of products and services at the lowest rates. Whenever somebody is interested in buying anything or looking for quotes on services, all they need to do is visit hotprice.co.za.”