Comparison shopping site NexTag, locked in combat with DealTime and several other pricing and merchandise-search operations, reported its sixth consecutive quarter of profitability and positive cash flow with the period ended March 31.
The San Mateo, Calif.-based company said its results for 2002 marked the second consecutive year of annual revenue growth in excess of 450 percent. The company is privately held so definitive financial figures are not disclosed.
NexTag competes in an e-commerce sector that is becoming more hotly contested among major online companies, thanks to the beta launch of Froogle by Google and the recent DealTime acquisition of consumer review and ratings company Epinions. Both companies say they are profitable.
Last January, New York City-based DealTime reported record revenues of more than $11 million for the fourth of 2002 quarter and said it was profitable on a GAAP basis for the second half of the year.
Other competition in this sector includes BizRate and PriceGrabber as well as the Ask Jeeves Ask.com shopping channel powered by PriceGrabber.
NexTag said traffic to its site has increased 900 percent since Nielsen//NetRatings began reporting on it in June 2001 and it reached 3.5 million unique visitors in December 2002.
“NexTag was one of the first companies in the shopping search category to reach profitability,” said Purnendu Ojha, CEO of NexTag. “Our financial track record … establishes the company as a leader”
“NexTag’s site speed and specialized comparison features such as exact total price (price plus tax if any plus shipping), product ratings, and price history make it an ideal site for individual consumers and small business buyers,” said Paul Vollenweider, vice president of Shop Toshiba, which draws sales leads from the site to its own online store.
