Leading comparison shopping engine Shopzilla notified its affiliates last week that they are decreasing minimum rates on Electronics, Computers and Office Supplies categories. This change is effective starting today (April 28th, 2009).

Clearly, merchants in these niches are feeling the recession full force and may be pulling back part of their advertising spend as a result. This change to rates may however help Shopzilla Internet retailers increase product sales by furthering campaign reach and thus deepening participation in the merchant listings program. The full and updated rate card is available here, but Shopzilla did not note how much rates would be discounted.

To take advantage of these changes, advertisers must log in to the bidding tool via the Shopzilla Business Services site. Shopzilla was careful to note that it (unlike Yahoo!) will not automatically place or change bids on advertisers behalf.