Christmas Shopping Season Sparks Increased Visitation to European Online Retailers
By Comscore Inc., PRNETuesday, December 8, 2009
U.K. and France See Significant Gains in Online Retail Traffic in November, With More Modest Growth in Germany
LONDON, December 9 - comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world,
today released a report on visitation to online retail sites in the U.K.,
France and Germany during the Christmas shopping season. The study analyzed
the total number of visits to online retail sites during November against a
pre-season base period average to understand how the onset of the Christmas
shopping season has affected online consumer habits when measured against a
typical shopping week.
(Logo: www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080115/COMSCORELOGO)
A Strong Start to the Christmas Shopping Season in November
Offering signs of tempered optimism that the consumer economy might be
beginning to rebound after a tumultuous year, the European online Christmas
shopping season got off to a solid start this year in the U.K., France and
Germany. U.K. visits to retail sites were up 18-percent during the first week
of November compared to a typical week during the prior two months, and
increased even further throughout the month to enjoy a 41-percent growth rate
during the week ending November 29. France also showed solid gains,
culminating in the same 41-percent growth rate during the last week of
November, while Germany showed slightly slower visitation growth, more
comparable to that seen across the pond in the U.S.
Christmas Online Shopping Uptake*
Percent Growth in Total Visits to Online Retail Sites
November 2009 vs. September/October 2009 Base Period**
Source: comScore, inc.***
Base Period Index (Aug 31 - Nov 1) U.K. France Germany U.S.
---------------------- ---- ------ ------- ----
Week 1 (Nov 2 - Nov 
18% 36% 18% 8%
---------------------- --- --- --- ---
Week 2 (Nov 9 - Nov 15) 47% 49% 25% 11%
------------------ --- --- --- ---
Week 3 (Nov 16 - Nov 22) 34% 30% 9% 13%
------------------- --- --- --- ---
Week 4 (Nov 23 - Nov 29) 41% 41% 16% 29%
------------------- --- --- --- ---
November Average 35% 39% 17% 15%
---------------- --- --- --- ---
* % change represents the change in the number of visitors to online
retail sites compared to the pre-Christmas season base period average.
** Average weekly visits to a pre-determined sample of leading online
retail sites for the period Aug 31 - Nov 1.
*** Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or
access from mobile phones or PDAs.
"That we're seeing such strong growth in visitation to retail sites in
three of Europe's leading countries prior to the December pre-Christmas rush
is, hopefully, a positive sign for the overall European economy," said
comScore chairman, Gian Fulgoni. "Right now the U.K. and France appear to be
demonstrating the highest rate of traffic growth to retail sites,
outperforming the U.S. by a considerable margin. While German growth has been
slightly slower, the heavy part of the country's online shopping season
should begin in earnest during the first week of December."
Top 5 U.K. Retail Properties
Across the month of November, average weekly visits to online retail
sites grew 35 percent in the U.K. compared to the typical shopping week from
the prior two months. Of the top 5 online retailers as ranked by average
weekly visits across the month of November, Play.com Sites experienced the
largest growth on the base period with a 62-percent gain, closely followed by
the Home retail group, owner of Argos and Homebase (up 61 percent) and Tesco
Stores (up 50 percent).
Top 5 U.K. Online Retailers Ranked by Average
Weekly Visits in November 2009*
Percent Growth in Total Visits During
November
vs. September/October Base Period**
Source: comScore, inc.
---------------------------------------------------------
% Change in Avg. Weekly
Retail Property Visits vs. Base Period**
--------------- ------------------------
Retail 35%
------ ---
Amazon Sites 35%
------------ ---
Apple.com Worldwide Sites 22%
------------------------- ---
Home Retail Group 61%
----------------- ---
Tesco Stores 50%
------------ ---
Play.com Sites 62%
-------------- ---
* Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access
from mobile phones or PDAs.
**Average weekly visits to a pre-determined sample of leading online
retail sites for the period Aug 31 - Nov 1.
Top 5 French Retail Properties
Visits to online retail sites in France were up 36 percent during the
first week of the month and remained steady throughout November. Of the top 5
online retailers, Groupe PriceMinister experienced the fastest rate of growth
at 188 percent, followed by Amazon sites and Cdiscount.com, both with
40-percent gains respectively.
Top 5 French Online Retailers Ranked by
Average Weekly Visits in November 2009*
Percent Growth in Total Visits During
November
vs. September/October Base Period**
Source: comScore, inc.
% Change in Avg. Weekly
Retail Property Visits vs. Base Period**
--------------- ------------------------
Retail 39%
------ ---
Groupe PriceMinister 188%
-------------------- ---
Groupe PPR 37%
---------- ---
Amazon Sites 40%
------------ ---
Otto Gruppe 24%
----------- ---
Cdiscount.com 40%
------------- ---
* Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access
from mobile phones or PDAs.
**Average weekly visits to a pre-determined sample of leading online
retail sites for the period Aug 31 - Nov 1.
Top 5 German Retail Properties
In Germany, visits to online retail sites got off to a slightly slower
start than in France and the U.K., but still showed a healthy 17 percent
average weekly growth versus the typical shopping week. Amazon Sites was the
fastest growing retail site during November - up 46 percent on the base
period average - followed by Neckermann Gruppe (up 18 percent).
Top 5 German Online Retailers Ranked by
Average Weekly Visits in November 2009*
Percent Growth in Total Visits During
November
vs. September/October Base Period**
Source: comScore, inc.
% Change in Avg. Weekly
Retail Property Visits vs. Base Period**
--------------- ------------------------
Retail 17%
------ ---
Amazon Sites 46%
------------ ---
Otto Gruppe 2%
----------- ---
Arcandor AG -40%
----------- ---
T-Online.de Shop N/A
---------------- ---
Neckermann Gruppe 18%
----------------- ---
* Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access
from mobile phones or PDAs.
**Average weekly visits to a pre-determined sample of leading online
retail sites for the period Aug 31 - Nov 1.
About comScore
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital
world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more
information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.
Jamie Gavin, comScore, Inc., +44-(0)-207-099-1775, worldpress at comscore.com
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