E-COMMERCE INDEX REVEALS THE
BEGINNING OF THE ONLINE HOLIDAY SHOPPING SEASON

 Nielsen//NetRatings’ Weekly Holiday E-Commerce Index Shows

Large Jumps in Toys, Cybermalls and Electronics

NEW YORK – November 17, 1999 – Holiday shopping on the Internet has officially begun, according to Nielsen//NetRatings’ newly launched Holiday E-Commerce Index. Designed to gauge the pulse of online shopping this holiday season, the Index shows a 24.8% increase in unique visitors for the past six weeks across 10 e-commerce categories, including apparel, gift-giving portals and books/music/video. In particular, the categories of toys, cybermalls and electronics reveal the highest increases in visitors.

"We’ve already started to see significant spikes in expected categories," says Allen Weiner, vice president of analytical services at NetRatings, Inc. "By measuring activity at 50 leading e-commerce sites, we’ll be presenting timely insight into this year’s online holiday shopping season. Companies will be able to adapt their strategies and take full advantage of the opportunities for online business."

Table 1. Nielsen//NetRatings Holiday E-Commerce Index, Unique Audience at Representative Sites

 

Category	Week ending Nov. 7 (Unique Audience)	% Change from Week Ending Oct. 3 to Week Ending Nov. 7 (six weeks)
Toys	1,807,032	101.60%
Malls	1,238,746	71.40%
Electronics	538,268	48.10%
Comparison	290,774	37.40%
Apparel	866,423	35.90%
Books/music/video	5,068,535	33.10%
Software	2,557,640	24.00%
Gifts	313,962	19.30%
Auctions	4,331,398	1.60%
Hardware	888,907	-7.00%
Total	13,392,487	24.8%

Note: This index is comprised of five representative sites in each category, and is meant to act as a barometer to gauge the level of interest at e-commerce sites during the holiday season.

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, November 1999

What’s Hot?

Toys (see Table 1) are the hottest category for the early online holiday season, with almost 600,000 new visitors since the beginning of November. In search of everything from Pokemon characters to Beanie Babies, this holiday season’s toy rush is impacting the Internet with a remarkable 101.6% increase in visitors over the past six weeks. The toy category, including eToys and Toys ‘r Us, increased its surfership by 46.9% just from the week ending October 31 to the week ending November 7. "There is no sign of let-up here as both companies [eToys and Toys ‘r Us] have launched massive advertising campaigns to capture the attention of toy buyers this season," notes Weiner.

A category that shows early promise is that of cybermalls, which plays to the strength of shopping convenience. Online shopping mall sites have seen more than a 71% growth over the past six weeks. Buy.com and iMall have showed strong gains for the weeks leading up to November 7. "For those who want one destination to cover all their needs, Buy.com and iMall are hoping to reap the rewards. One of the appeals of online shopping is that it saves time," says Weiner. "So, it is no surprise that cybermalls are becoming extremely popular."

 

What’s Next?

As the e-tail rush continues to gain momentum, comparison-shopping sites, such as pricewatch.com and bottomdollar.com, are picking up more surfers. "Although earlier this year Nielsen//NetRatings research showed that comparison-shopping sites were flat, the holidays may be an opportunity to gain some critical mass as consumers will be looking for a quick and easy way to find the best price," says Weiner.

Another up-and-coming category is gift-giving portals, which help shoppers find the right gift for the right person. In fact, several individual retailers, such as Williams Sonoma, have added a gift registry component to their sites. 911gifts.com has enjoyed a 26% increase in visitors since the beginning of November.

"Helping shoppers find the perfect gift online may be the distinguishing factor that makes or breaks e-retail sites this holiday season," says Weiner.

 

The Nielsen//NetRatings Holiday E-Commerce Index

The Nielsen//NetRatings Holiday E-Commerce Index will measure online user activity at key e-commerce sites weekly throughout the holiday shopping season. The Nielsen//NetRatings Holiday E-Commerce Index tracks activity in 10 e-commerce categories, ranging from apparel and auctions to software and toys. In turn, each category is comprised of five leading companies.

The Nielsen//NetRatings Holiday E-Commerce Index uses activity data from the first week of November as its benchmark. Weekly activity will be measured and compared against data from the benchmark, and thus, will give analysts and investors a measure of the extent of holiday e-commerce activity and information on the sites that are drawing the most consumer interest.

 

About Nielsen//NetRatings

Nielsen//NetRatings, the audience measurement service from Nielsen Media Research and NetRatings, Inc., collects data from approximately 38,000 panelists as they use the Internet at home. The Nielsen//NetRatings panel is the largest media research sample of at-home Internet users currently being measured in real time. Nielsen//NetRatings uses unique technology capable of measuring both Internet use and advertising to provide the most timely, accurate and comprehensive Internet usage data and advertising information in the industry. For more information, please visit www.nielsen-netratings.com.

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