Consumers Flock To Coupon Sites Amid Recession
- by Mark Walsh @markfwal, December 16, 2008
Underscoring the recession-fueled
search for good buys, coupon sites ranked as the fastest-growing category in November, with traffic up 32% over October to 35.6 million, according to new data released Tuesday by comScore. The runner-up in traffic growth, at the other end of the retail spectrum, was jewelry and luxury goods, at 25%. Other retail segments enjoying seasonal gains included toys (24%), shopping mall and department store sites (both 20%), and consumer electronics (17%).
But the increased traffic to luxury sites such as Coach.com and Tiffany.com is not necessarily translating into higher sales. E-commerce figures released Sunday by comScore showed that sales of jewelry and watches were actually down 4% from a year ago, suggesting that shoppers may be looking but not buying at the high-end.
ComScore has predicted that online sales this holiday season will be flat year-over-year, at $29.2 billion. In line with that projection, the measurement firm reported that online spending from Nov. 1 to Dec. 12 was $19.4 billion, about the same as in the year-earlier period.
Coupons, both online and traditional, have proven increasingly popular as the worsening economy pushes consumers to seek out bargains. A study last week by Packaged Facts found that 87% of consumers now prefer to shop at retailers that offer coupons, and 89% are more likely to use coupons in a recession.
"With budgets a top concern for consumers, the ability to conveniently search the Web to find the best prices has become an increasingly important part of the holiday shopping buying process, for both online and offline purchases," said Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore Media Metrix, in a statement.
Among coupon sites was Eversave.com, with 8.6 million visitors, and Black Friday.com, which was the top-gaining online property with a 1,500% increase to 5.5 million visitors in November. Other retailers seeing online traffic spikes last month included ShopLocal (122%), BestBuy (79%), and Toys R Us (65%). Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, had a 43% uptick in traffic.
Overall, Google remained the most-trafficked site, with 147 million visitors in November, followed closely by Yahoo, at 143.8 million. Microsoft rounded out the top three with an audience of 123 million.
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