Apnoti, a free online shopping community, strives to profit from two retail trends: consumer desires for low prices, and the popularity of Amazon.com, Retailer Daily reports.

By registering on Apnoti.com, users can have most products on Amazon monitored for price fluctuations. When a product reaches or falls below a price set by the customer, an email automatically notifies them of the price change. Apnoti says it checks prices at least once per hour and that it cannot track items that are out of stock or have specifications such as size and color.

Apnoti uses the Amazon Associates Program to make a profit: if customers click on the product through a link in the notification email, Apnoti receives a portion of the sale proceeds. It is currently available to Amazon customers in the US, UK, Germany and France. The company plans to expand both the number of online retailers it tracks and countries in which it operates.

According to a study of US spending habits by Bank of America, a high percentage of US consumers comparison shop, and seek advice before making purchases and participating in discount and rewards programs. In addition, Nielsen Company research shows that dollar stores are outpacing other CPG retail channels in popularity with consumers of all income levels.

As mentioned above, Apnoti is also taking advantage of Amazon's current popularity. Amazon experienced impressive financial growth during fiscal 2008, with net income rising 36% and net sales rising 29%.

Retailers including Wal-Mart and Kmart have used Twitter to inform customers of price deals. In addition, retailers including rival online site Overstock.com and Sears Holding Company launched proprietary social networking sites. Apnoti is among the first third-party sites specifically created to combine social networking and price-tracking features connected to a retailer.