2024 State of Gaming Report
Key Growth Drivers in February include Valentine’s Day, Tax Season and the Now-Infamous Super Bowl Halftime Show
RESTON, Va. March 19, 2004 – Comscore MMX today announced the Top 50 U.S. Internet Properties for the month of February 2004. Between January and February, the total U.S. Internet population remained stable at 152 million individuals. Highlights of this month’s ratings include continued strength in the Taxes and Politics categories, the “Valentine’s Day effect” and visitation related to the much talked about Super Bowl “wardrobe malfunction.”
“This month’s traffic shifts can be attributed to an interesting mix of both the predictable and the unexpected,” said Peter Daboll, president and CEO of Comscore MMX. “As anticipated, tax season and Valentine’s Day were key contributors to many of the top gaining properties and categories in February. But less predictably, a number of entertainment, politics and news sites were the beneficiaries of the Janet Jackson incident and a shift in the Democratic primary landscape.”
Top 50 PropertiesFive properties entered the Top 50 Properties in February (see table 1). Tax season pushed IRS.gov and Intuit into the Top 50. IRS.gov, by far the largest mover in the Top 50, jumped 34 spots to take the 19th position, while Intuit climbed 21 spots to number 39. Partly fueled by its promotional partnership with Pepsi, Apple Computer broke into the Top 50 in February, moving up 13 positions to take the number 41 ranking.
Of the properties in both the January and February Top 50 rankings, AT&T Properties and AmericanGreetings posted the biggest moves. AT&T Properties utilized a Valentine’s Day promotion to jump 10 spots to number 22, while the Valentine’s Day e-card rush bumped AmericanGreetings up 10 spots to number 26.
Taxes and Politics Turn in a Repeat Performance in FebruaryJust as in January, the Taxes and Politics categories were the top gainers in February (see table 2). Key drivers of other traffic shifts this month included Valentine’s Day and a number of high-visibility popular culture events, such as the Super Bowl (with its halftime “entertainment”), the Oscars and The Passion.
In February, the top ten sites in the Taxes category grew an average of 80 percent versus January. Category leader IRS.gov grew by 63 percent, helping to propel the Taxes category up 47 percent and the Government category up 6 percent. TaxActOnline.com and HRBlock.com also posted impressive gains of 88 percent and 52 percent, respectively, placing three tax sites among the top ten gaining properties (see table 3). Nearly 20 percent of U.S. Internet users visited the Taxes category in February, spending just over 30 minutes at these sites and viewing an average of 52 pages each.
As the Democratic primary field narrowed in February, the Politics category continued to pick up speed. In total, nearly 16 million Americans visited the category – an increase of 14 percent versus the month prior – making the Politics the second-largest gainer in February. This follows an increase of 78 percent from December to January. With the general election still 9 months away, the Politics category has grown by 46 percent versus last year, another indication that the Internet is an increasingly mainstream source of political information for Americans.
Interestingly, Comscore data indicate that visitation growth to candidate Web sites was in line with the Democratic primary race in February. JohnKerry.com jumped 103 percent to top one million visitors and become the leading candidate site, while JohnEdwards2004.com grew by 60 percent to 480,000 visitors in February. Both DeanforAmerica.com and Clark04.com declined by approximately 50 percent to 355,000 and 185,000 visitors, respectively.
As expected, Valentine’s Day had a significant impact on online retailers. The Jewelry, Luxury Goods & Accessories category was the third-largest gaining category, growing by 14 percent from January to February. Jewelry retailers posting the largest traffic spikes in February included Fossil.com (244 percent versus January), Zales.com (63 percent) and Ashford.com (46 percent). Comscore e-commerce tracking revealed that sales of jewelry and watches reached nearly $65 million in the first two weeks of February, up almost 70 percent versus the same period in 2003.
In early February, a Comscore survey (http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=426) found that female respondents were most likely to select flowers as their preferred Valentine’s Day gift. Comscore traffic and shopping data indicate that a great many Valentines got just what they were looking for. More than 33 million Americans visited the Flowers, Gifts & Greetings category, making it the fourth-largest gainer in February. Proflowers.com grew by 420 percent, the largest gain posted by any major property in February, while 1-800-Flowers jumped 67 percent, making the site the fifth largest gainer last month. From a sales perspective, consumer spending on flowers and gifts during the first two weeks of February approached $140 million, an increase of 34 percent versus the corresponding weeks in 2003.
Three major events on the small and big screens caught the country’s attention and helped drive a number of related categories upward in February. The Super Bowl, with its closely watched advertisements and even more closely scrutinized halftime show, benefited a number of the top gaining categories and properties. A curious and abuzz nation looking for the scoop on the Janet Jackson incident propelled DrudgeReport.com up 360 percent to nearly 6 million unique visitors, making the site the second-largest gaining property in February. Pepsi’s promotional agreement with iTunes, which was launched on game day, drove Pepsi up 50 percent, pushed iTunes up 117 percent and contributed to the Music category’s growth of 7 percent versus January.
In addition to the Super Bowl, the Academy Awards were also a key contributor to a six percent jump in visitors to the TV category. Popular Oscars-related content pushed MSN Television up an impressive 260 percent, while ABC.com grew 20 percent to reach 4.6 million unique visitors. Consumers’ early rush to the virtual box office for The Passion helped push the Tickets category up 7 percent, with Fandango.com and MovieTickets.com leading the way.
Top 50 Ad Focus RankingIntroduced in October 2003, Comscore MMX Ad Focus reporting provides a unique ranking of top Web entities that are supported in whole or in part by online advertising.
The composition and order of the top four Ad Focus entities remained constant from January to February, and Google.com moved jumped two spots to claim the fifth spot in the Ad Focus entities (see table 4). Google Web Search, a new entity created to track Google’s Web search activity (and excluding other channels, such as News and Images), cracked the top ten in its first month, while a 4-percent increase in visitors to the ValueClick Network helped it break into the top ten. In addition, Tribal Fusion attained the number 15 position in the first month Comscore has tracked this advertising network.
TABLE 1
Top 50 PropertiesFebruary 2004Total U.S. - Home, Work and University LocationsUnique Visitors (000)Source: Comscore MMX
Rank
Property
Unique Visitors (000)
Total Internet Users
152,056
1
Yahoo! Sites
109,638
26
AmericanGreetings Property
15,072
2
Time Warner Network
108,697
27
Weatherbug.com Property
14,973
3
MSN-Microsoft Sites
107,930
28
Classmates.com Sites
14,805
4
EBay
72,233
29
SBC Communications
14,756
5
Google Sites
61,217
30
ORBITZ.COM
14,462
6
Terra Lycos
44,663
31
CareerBuilder, Inc.
14,329
7
About/Primedia
41,281
32
Cox Enterprises Inc.
14,279
8
Amazon Sites
35,879
33
Gannett Sites
14,255
9
Viacom Online
28,336
34
Sony Online
13,928
10
Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG)
25,535
35
iVillage.com: Womens Network
13,832
11
Real.com Network
24,560
36
Adobe Sites
13,512
12
Weather Channel, The
23,418
37
Wal-Mart
13,483
13
CNET Networks
23,214
38
News Corp. Online
13,302
14
Verizon Communications Corporation
22,498
39
Intuit
12,921
15
Excite Network
40
E.W. Scripps
12,617
16
Symantec
20,343
41
Apple Computer, Inc.
12,585
17
Monster
18,331
42
eUniverse Network
12,481
18
Shopping.com Sites
17,223
43
United Online, Inc
11,753
19
IRS.GOV
17,171
44
Trip Network Inc.
11,682
20
Gorilla Nation Media
16,619
45
Comcast Corporation
11,455
21
Ask Jeeves
16,115
46
Travelocity
11,442
22
AT&T Properties
15,990
47
Vivendi-Universal Sites
10,931
23
Expedia Travel
15,921
48
Dell
10,844
24
EA Online
15,455
49
Earthlink
10,795
25
InfoSpace Network
15,385
50
Bank of America
10,327
TABLE 2
Top Ten Gaining Categories by Unique VisitorsFebruary 2004 vs. January 2004Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users Source: Comscore MMX
Jan-04(000)
Feb-04(000)
Percent Change
152,443
0%
Taxes
18,426
27,156
47%
Politics
13,973
15,903
14%
Jewelry/Luxury Goods/Accessories
9,626
10,944
Flowers/Gifts/Greetings
29,369
33,241
13%
Entertainment-Music
64,684
69,178
7%
Tickets
22,424
23,884
Entertainment-TV
48,162
51,122
6%
Government
66,513
70,399
e-cards
37,384
39,245
5%
Business/Finance-News/Research
45,937
47,840
4%
TABLE 3
Top Ten Gaining Properties by Percentage Change in Unique Visitors*February 2004 vs. January 2004Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet UsersSource: Comscore MMX
PercentageChange
Rank byUnique Visitors
N/A
PROFLOWERS.COM
671
3,485
419%
194
DRUDGEREPORT.COM
1,296
5,951
359%
108
NASCAR.COM
2,124
4,507
112%
152
TAXACTONLINE.COM
1,470
2,756
88%
242
1-800-Flowers
1,701
2,841
67%
240
Oxygen Media
1,642
2,729
66%
247
10,511
63%
Forbes Property
2,700
4,290
59%
166
HRBLOCK.COM
3,874
5,870
52%
111
Business Week Online
1,995
3,004
51%
228
*Ranking based on the top 250 properties in February
TABLE 4
Ad Focus RankingUnique Visitors (000)Total U.S. - Home, Work and University LocationsFebruary 2004
Unique Visitors(000)
Reach %
100%
Yahoo!
107,170
71%
AOL Prop Instant Message
25,233
17%
Advertising.com**
106,469
70%
Tickle, Inc.
24,470
16%
MSN
96,730
64%
Yahoo! News
24,156
YAHOO.COM Home Page
70,462
46%
Real.com Media Sites
23,922
GOOGLE.COM
59,502
39%
My Yahoo!
23,874
Yahoo! Search
57,622
38%
MSN Messenger Service
23,740
MaxOnline**
56,335
37%
REAL.COM
22,988
15%
Google Web Search
55,198
36%
ABOUT.COM
22,685
ValueClick Network**
53,299
35%
Yahoo! Mail
52,660
WEATHER.COM
22,308
MaxOnline Network**
52,392
AOL Prop News
22,307
MSN.COM Home Page
50,914
34%
AOL.COM Home Page
22,058
AOL Proprietary
49,193
32%
ClickAgents Network**
21,498
MSN Search
49,099
CNN
21,466
Tribal Fusion**
47,908
GATOR.COM
21,186
MSN Hotmail
45,417
30%
Gator Sites
Lycos
42,216
28%
Tickle Personals
20,803
AOL Prop Email
40,219
26%
BURST! Media Youths and Students**
20,638
BURST! Media**
38,018
25%
Yahoo! Messenger
20,138
Claria
34,196
23%
MSNBC
19,967
AOL Prop Search
34,006
22%
MSNBC.COM
19,797
Yahoo! Geocities
32,980
Yahoo! Shopping
19,681
24/7 Real Media**
32,687
Yahoo! Get Local
19,580
GATOR (App)
30,254
20%
Netscape
18,737
12%
MAPQUEST.COM
29,372
19%
AOL Prop Personal Finance
18,646
**Indicates that this entity is an advertising network.
About Comscore MMXComscore MMX, a division of Comscore Networks, provides industry-leading Internet audience measurement services that report – with unmatched accuracy - details of online media usage, visitor demographics and online buying power for the home, work and university audiences across local U.S. markets and across the globe. Comscore MMX continues the tradition of quality and innovation established by its MMX syndicated Internet ratings - long recognized as the currency in online media measurement among financial analysts, advertising agencies, publishers and marketers - while drawing upon Comscore's advanced technologies to address important new industry requirements. All Comscore MMX syndicated ratings are based on industry-sanctioned sampling methodologies.
About Comscore NetworksComscore Networks provides unparalleled insight into consumer behavior. This capability is based on a representative cross-section of more than 1.5 million global Internet users who have given Comscore explicit permission to confidentially capture their Web-wide browsing, buying and other transaction behavior, including offline purchasing. Through its patent-pending technology, Comscore measures what matters across the entire spectrum of surfing and buying behavior. This deep knowledge of customers and competitors helps clients design more powerful marketing strategies and tactics that deliver superior ROI. Comscore services are used by global leaders such as Microsoft, The Newspaper Association of America, Knight Ridder Digital, Best Buy, Verizon, Nestlé, Wells Fargo & Company, GlaxoSmithKline, and Orbitz. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com.
PressBill DaddiDaddi Brand Communications646-370-1341press@comscore.com