It looks like the newest trend in e-commerce is comparison shopping toolbars as yet another product is ready to share your browser and find you deals online. The free SquareTrade SideBar becomes available today, just in time for the hectic holiday shopping season.

SquareTrade SideBar is an always-on application that acts as an online shopping assistant. According to a company statement today, the toolbar detects when users are shopping and automatically delivers relevant information necessary to make a better-informed purchase — pricing comparisons, availability, reviews and seller trust ratings. The SquareTrade SideBar displays purchase options fromretail stores to auctions and classified ads.

According to SquareTrade, this first release of SideBar is "focused on delivering great results in one of the largest gift-giving and online shopping categories: consumer electronics, for which industry research indicates that over $20 billion in U.S. online purchases will be made in 2005."

Over time, SquareTrade says it plans to roll out additional product categories, as well as expand the retail outlets it draws from.

"Our goal is to eliminate the time-sink and complexity of online shopping and give people peace of mind that they got a great deal," said Steve Abernethy, SquareTrade CEO and co-founder. "Shoppers experience a lot of stress and waste hours — or even days — hunting for the best deal online, especially during the holidays. In fact, our research indicates that many online consumers visit up to ten sites per day over multiple days to assure themselves of a good deal."

"We also see that consumers aren't just looking for the cheapest price — they want to have the peace of mind that they are buying from reputable merchants," Abernethy continued. "We can help consumers drastically reduce their efforts and get great results."

SquareTrade's "peace-of-mind promise" also extends to a common menace in online shopping today: fraudulent web sites. The company claims SideBar is the first comparison-shopping tool to incorporate anti-fraud and anti-phishing technology. This protection incorporates specialized databases shared by consortiums that include eBay, Microsoft and Visa.

The introduction of the SideBar comes amid the debut of a few other similar products, including NexTag's Toolbar and, most notably, Vendio's Dealio Toolbar which also focuses on consumer electronics and benefits from Vendio's history in the e-commerce marketplace. It was released in early August.

For more information, visit www.squaretrade.com.

Devin Comiskey is the Managing Editor of ECommerce-Guide.com.