Online Holiday Shopping Spikes 27 Percent Day After Thanksgiving, Marking Busiest Shopping Day This Season, According To Nielsen//NetRatings

Apparel Jumps 68 Percent and Consumer Electronics Spikes 47 Percent

NEW YORK – November 27, 2000 – Nielsen//NetRatings, the Internet audience measurement service from Nielsen Media Research, ACNielsen eRatings.com and NetRatings, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTRT), today revealed that the online world mirrored the offline world the day after Thanksgiving in being the busiest shopping day so far this season. The Nielsen//NetRatings Holiday E-Commerce Index, which measures Web surfing in eight product categories, surged 27 percent at home on Friday, November 24, as compared to the rest of the week.

“Shoppers flocked to e-commerce sites the day after Thanksgiving, traditionally one of the busiest shopping days of the year for brick-and-mortar retailers,” said Sean Kaldor, vice president of eCommerce at NetRatings. “We’re seeing the same trends on the Web, with spikes in apparel and consumer electronics sites.”

Apparel sites were the hottest category, with an overall rise of 68 percent on Friday, as compared to the rest of the week (see Table 1). Landsend.com skyrocketed 93 percent, followed by Gap.com, which soared 86 percent, and Spiegel.com jumped 85 percent.

Consumer electronics sites rose 46 percent, with CircuitCity.com jumping 126 percent in unique audience at home on Friday. Outpost.com rose 48 percent, and 800.com increased 40 percent in traffic.

“A surge was seen in every e-commerce category the day after Thanksgiving, but the biggest contributor to overall growth in sheer numbers were virtual department stores, led by Amazon.com,” said Kaldor. “Amazon alone accounted for more than 1.3 million people online on Friday, an increase of 36 percent as compared to the rest of the week.”

Table 1. Nielsen//NetRatings Holiday E-Commerce Index
(U.S., Unique Audience, At-Home)

Category	Average Daily Unique Audience Mon.-Thurs. (11/20-11/23)	Fri., Nov. 24	Growth %
APPAREL	196,131	330,092	68%
CONSUMER ELECTRONICS	268,919	392,334	46%
BOOKS/MUSIC/VIDEO	375,552	501,347	33%
VIRTUAL DEPARTMENT STORES	1,388,540	1,813,612	31%
VALUE-ORIENTED SITES	288,516	370,097	28%
TOYS & GAMES	369,252	459,552	24%
SPECIALTY GIFTS	42,443	52,103	23%
COMPUTER HARDWARE	306,665	360,430	18%
TOTAL	2,708,587	3,438,037	27%

Note: The index is comprised of five representative sites in each category, and acts as a barometer to gauge the level of usage of e-commerce sites during the holiday season.
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, November 2000

“Multi-channel sites or ‘brick-and-clicks’ attracted a large number of visitors on Friday, with a 49 percent increase as compared to the rest of the week, while dot com pure plays leapt 26 percent,” said Kaldor. “While the two have been battling back and forth throughout the holidays, no clear winner has yet emerged.”

About Nielsen//NetRatings
Nielsen//NetRatings, the Internet audience measurement service from Nielsen Media Research and NetRatings, Inc., collects real-time data from more than 70,000 panel members in the United States.  The U.S. panel sample consists of 62,000 at-home users and 8,000 at-work users.  These panels collectively represent the largest representative media research sample of Internet users in the industry.  Internationally, Nielsen//NetRatings services are provided via ACNielsen eRatings.com, a venture between ACNielsen (NYSE: ART) and NetRatings, Inc. Globally, Nielsen//NetRatings services measure the Internet experiences of nearly 200,000 global Internet users.

Nielsen//NetRatings services use 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 global marketplace.  Nielsen//NetRatings services leverage proprietary data-collection technology from NetRatings, Nielsen Media Research's 50 years of expertise in research and audience measurement, and ACNielsen’s international leadership in supplying market research information covering more than 100 countries.

Editor’s Note:  Please source all data to Nielsen//NetRatings.

# # #