Shoppers seeking the best deals on computers, fridges and groceries can now do so in an instant using their mobile phone, or from the comfort of their armchair.

A new company, 60207.com, will text you the three best prices for electrical or white goods that take your fancy.

The man behind the service is Justin Dukes, the founding managing director of Channel 4 Television and joint managing director of the Financial Times group.

He is hoping to cash in on the popularity of online switching sites such as Moneysupermarket.com and Uswitch.com, which let you compare utilities and financial services.

Suppose you are out shopping and see a Panasonic plasma TV you like. You would text the make and model number — Panasonic.TH42PX60, say — to 60207. The firm would text you back with the three best prices on its internet database. It claims it will do this within 30 seconds.

With the Panasonic TV, the best prices are from Be Direct at £1,289.99 and at Empire Direct at £1297.99, compared with £1,499 at a big retailer such as Comet — a saving of more than £200.

For a Zanussi tumble dryer, texting Zanussi.TCE7127 would give you a price of £276.99 from Be Direct and £298.97 from Bennetts Electrical. This compares with £299 from John Lewis.

A text charge, usually 25p to 35p, is applied when the customer sends a message and an additional 50p is added if a response is sent. There is no charge if no prices are found, but a text will be sent to inform the customer of this.

After receiving the text, there is an option to purchase the item at the cheapest rate through the company’s call centre or online.

Nicholas Mearing-Smith, managing director of 60207, said two-thirds of users save up to 18 per cent to 20 per cent on the internet.

He said: “We’ve focused on the electronic-goods sector because it is easier to identify products and search for equivalent prices using product codes.”

Hot on the heels of 60207.com comes Mysupermarket.com, a price-comparison website that allows internet shoppers to hunt for the best grocery bargains from their homes.

The site can compare the price of a weekly shop at Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Ocado — the online site that delivers Waitrose products. As well as highlighting the cheapest store, it also points customers towards bargains they may have overlooked.

Mysupermarket takes into account that supermarkets may not stock the same products, providing “equivalents” if one provider does not stock a particular item or brand.

The site also has a facility that analyses a user’s shopping trolley to suggest ways to save money with the latest special offers.

Johnny Stern, director of Mysupermarket, said: “Many shoppers have told us they know they could spend more wisely on their weekly shop, but it’s just too difficult and time-consuming to keep track of price changes and special offers.

“We know that our method can result in some significant savings — shoppers from our various trials have been saving around 20 per cent on their weekly shop.”

For more on consumer affairs visit www.timesonline.co.uk/consumeraffairs