Commentary
Cyber Shopping in U.K., France and Germany Active as Christmas Approaches
- by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, December 14, 2006
comScore Networks recently released the first in a series of European holiday season shopping analyses, which revealed that French retail sites have experienced the largest gains in the first three weeks of the season (versus the pre-holiday shopping period from 28 August - 29 October), capped off by a 79-percent gain in cyber shopping traffic during the most recent week (ending 26 November) versus the pre-holiday average.
Retail sites in the U.K. saw a 65-percent increase, and German sites experienced a 63-percent rise in the most recent week compared to pre-holiday levels. Amazon and Apple Computer, consistently appear in each country's list of top sites, demonstrating the global appeal of these two brands.
Bob Ivins, managing director of comScore Europe, said "While cyber shopping visits rose most quickly in Germany during the first week of the holiday shopping season, online shoppers in France have since become more active."
European Holiday Cyber Shopping Index Visits to Secure Sections of Online Retailing Sites | |||
U.K. | France | Germany | |
Pre-Holiday Base Period Index | 100 | 100 | 100 |
Week 1 (10/30- 11/5) | 137 | 153 | 157 |
Week 2 (11/6-11/12) | 146 | 162 | 153 |
Week 3 (11/13-11/19) | 151 | 165 | 156 |
Week 4 (11/20-11/26) | 165 | 179 | 163 |
Source: comScore World Metrix | |||
An index of 165 should be read as 65 percent more visits to secure sections of retail sites took place, compared to the average (100) during the pre-holiday period.
"These gains show that consumers armed with high-speed access and positive online retail experiences are increasingly comfortable shopping online," commented Ivins. "As online spending continues to grow and account for a larger percentage of total consumer spending, the growth... could be the difference between a good Christmas and a great Christmas for many online retailers."
In France, three retail sites accounted for nearly half of all cyber shopping activity during the week ending 26 November.
Top Retail Sites by Weekly Share of Cyber Shopping Visits from French Users (Period: Week Ending 26 November, 2006; Home and Work Locations, Visitors Age 15+) | |
Share of Visits | |
Top French Retail Sites | 100% |
Groupe PPR | 22% |
CDISCOUNT.COM | 15% |
Amazon Sites | 10% |
Apple Computer, Inc | 7% |
3 Suisses | 5% |
ALAPAGE.COM | 5% |
QUELLE.FR | 3% |
Yves Rocher | 2% |
American Greetings Property | 2% |
Hewlett Packard | 2% |
Source: comScore World Metrix | |
Cyber shopping visits in the U.K. were led during the week ending 26 November by online super stores, including GUS (owner of Argus and Burberry), which captured the highest share in the category (11 percent)
Top Retail Sites by Weekly Share of Cyber Shopping Visits from U.K. Users (Week ending 26 November Total U.K. - Home and Work Locations, Visitors Age 15+) | |
Share of Weekly Cyber Shopping Visits | |
Top U.K. Retail Sites | 100% |
GUS | 11% |
Amazon Sites | 10% |
Tesco Stores | 7% |
Littlewoods Shop Direct | 6% |
Apple Computer, Inc. | 5% |
Play.com Sites | 5% |
NEXT Group | 3% |
Ticketmaster | 3% |
The Carphone Warehouse Group | 2% |
Groupe PPR | 2% |
Source: comScore World Metrix | |
German cyber shopping activity spiked in the most recent week (up 63 percent compared to the pre-holiday shopping period). The category was led during the week ending 26 November by Web.DE Shopping, which accounted for 16 percent of total German cyber shopping visits.
Top Retail Sites by Weekly Share of Cyber Shopping Visits from German Users (Week Ending 26 November Total Germany - Home and Work Locations, Visitors Age 15+) | |
Share of Visits | |
Top German Retail Sites | 100% |
Web.DE Shopping | 16% |
Amazon Sites | 12% |
Otto Gruppe | 9% |
QUELLE.DE | 6% |
O2Online.DE | 5% |
Apple Computer, Inc. | 4% |
NECKERMANN.DE | 4% |
T-Mobile.DE | 2% |
Tchibo | 2% |
Medion Sites | 2% |
Source: comScore World Metrix | |
Read more about this report here.
Jack Loechner is the Editor of The Center for Media Research's daily Research Brief. You can reach him at jack@mediapost.com.