• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, November 14, 2002

Late Fall Shopping Rush Jumpstarts 2002 Online Holiday Shopping Season

Nielsen//NetRatings recently launched the early results of its fourth annual Holiday eCommerce Index which suggests that shoppers taking advantage of late fall deals are helping jumpstart the upcoming holiday season, as early shopping activity increased 12 percent during the week ending November 3, with online shopping rising around Halloween.

Toys and games led all categories, posting a 34 percent growth during the week ending November 3 (see Table 1). Consumer electronics followed, rising 26 percent, while shopping visits to the books, music and video category jumped 25 percent. Overall, more than 109.7 million shopping trips were conducted during the week.

Nielsen//NetRatings AdRelevance data shows that holiday-specific advertising surged during the end of October, with the number of unique holiday ads soaring 53 percent, while overall advertising only grew 13 percent.

"In the past, online holiday shopping kicked off much later, but we're seeing indications that seasonal sales and fall clearance promotions are helping boost an early start," said Lisa Strand, director and chief analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings.

Top 5 Shopping Categories, Ranked by Percent Growth (U.S., Work & Home)

	Shopping Trips WkEnding 10/2	Shopping Trips WkEnding 11/3	% Change
1. Toys & Games	2,997,059	4,025,067	34%
2. Consumer Electronics	4,132,256	5,216,200	26%
3. Books/Music/Video	5,577,073	6,970,333	25%
4. Apparel	3,731,403	4,625,859	24%
5. Virtual Department Stores	29,564,806	35,523,609	20%
Total	97,749,737	109,704,298	12%

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings

"Year-over-year, growth in traffic to many of the leading shopping destinations outpaced that of the entire industry. It's clear that the largest ecommerce sites are working to turn brand recognition into revenues this holiday season," said Strand.

Top Shopping Destinations, September 2002 (US, Combined Home and Work)

Site	Unique Audience (000)	Active Reach (%)
1. Amazon	30,550	25.2
2. eBay	30,164	24.88
3. Yahoo! Shopping	28,958	23.89
4. MSN Eshop	10,233	8.44
5. Barnesandnoble.com	7,292	6.02
6. Dell Computer	7,032	5.8
7. DealTime	6,815	5.62
8. Ticketmaster	5,777	4.77
9. Columbiahouse.com	5,547	4.58
10. Wal-Mart Stores	5,207	4.3
11. BestBuy.com	4,472	3.69
12. Hallmark	4,454	3.67
13. Target	4,325	3.57
14. JCPenney	4,045	3.34
15. Sears	3,997	3.3

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, September 2002 The top shopping destinations list excludes travel.