It's called comparison shopping. People have been doing it for generations. In the past information garnered from such experiences would permit a process called bargaining. Unfortunately, a lot of people have dismissed the idea of being informed consumers in favour of the misplaced notion of customer loyalty. (Very few people shop at places that would return that loyalty.)

So no, I don't see the process as dishonest.

Businesses need to look at what they're doing wrong. I've heard a theory about the reckoning happening with electronic retailers in Canada. For the non-Canucks: big box stores like Future Shop and Best Buy are shutting down stores, while small retailers like The Source (nee Radio Shack) are expanding. Now the theory goes that the big box stores are too big to sustain themselves due to rent and staffing costs. In other words, they are dinosaurs who could only exist while the food supply was plentiful. But it isn't the case anymore, so they are suffering while other businesses are taking their place (both online and brick and mortar).