Retail Web Sites Show Growth in Europe
Over 160 Million Europeans Visit Online Retail Sites in October, Up 5% vs. YA
U.K and France Show Faster Growth in Retail
LONDON, U.K., DECEMBER 3, 2007 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a report on the European online retail sector, with a focus on the U.K., France and Germany for October, based on data from the comScore World Metrix audience measurement service.
Year-on-year Growth
Across Europe, 160.6 million people visited online retail sites in the month of October 2007, an increase of five percent over October 2006. The October 2007 visitor base represents seventy percent of the total European Internet audience. In the U.K., traffic to retail sites grew 11 percent during this period, totaling 29 million unique visitors. Online retail traffic in France also grew 11 percent, reaching 18.1 million unique visitors in October 2007. In Germany, year over year growth remained relatively flat, with the sector attracting 22.7 million unique visitors in October. The lack of growth in Germany was likely due to the trade union strikes in the transport and service industries and the reported decline in consumer confidence.
“The fact that the online retail market now covers 70 percent of the European internet population and is still growing is impressive.” said Bob Ivins, comScore EVP of European Markets. “The stronger than average growth rates in the U.K. and France portend a healthy Christmas shopping season there. The weakness in the German market is a cause for concern, especially if the strikes continue.”
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European Online Retail UsageOctober 2007 vs. October 2006 Total European Unique Visitors Age 15+, Home & Work Locations* Source: comScore World Metrix |
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| Territory | Total Unique Visitors (000) to the Online Retail Category |
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| Oct 2006 | Oct 2007 | % Change | |
| Total European Internet Audience | 216,759 | 228,149 | 5% |
| Europe | 153,683 | 160,599 | 5% |
| U.K. | 26,145 | 29,027 | 11% |
| France | 16,198 | 18,057 | 11% |
| Germany | 22,826 | 22,695 | -1% |
* Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs
Top Ten U.K. Retail Properties
The U.K.’s online retail sector attracted 29 million unique visitors in October 2007, which amounts to 89 percent of the country’s total online user base in that month. The most popular property was online auction site eBay, which attracted 22.2 million unique visitors or 68 percent of the U.K.’s total Internet audience. eBay was followed by another pure play online retailer, Amazon Sites, which attracted 14.3 million unique visitors to gain a 44 percent reach. The highest ranking multi-channel retail property was Apple Inc, with 10.5 million unique visitors.
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Top 10 U.K. Retail Properties Ranked by U.K. Unique Visitors Total U.K., Age 15+ - Home & Work Locations* October 2007 Source: comScore World Metrix |
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| Property | Total Unique Visitors (000) |
% Reach |
| Total U.K. Internet Audience | 32,444 | 100 |
| Retail | 29,027 | 89 |
| eBay | 22,191 | 68 |
| Amazon Sites | 14,265 | 44 |
| Apple Inc. | 10,490 | 32 |
| Home Retail Group | 8,675 | 27 |
| Tesco Stores | 8,468 | 26 |
| Play.com Sites | 6,733 | 21 |
| Dixons Stores Group | 5,255 | 16 |
| Littlewoods Shop Direct Group | 4,428 | 14 |
| HMV | 3,958 | 12 |
| NEXT Group | 3,660 | 11 |
* Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs
Top Ten French Retail Properties
In October, France’s online retail sector attracted 18.1 million unique visitors or 65 percent of the country’s total online population. Again, as in the case of both the U.K. and Germany, the most popular of these properties was eBay, which attracted 11.4 million unique visitors to reach 41 percent of the total French Internet audience. The second largest property in the top ten was multi-channel retailer, Groupe PPR. This French property attracted 9.7 million unique visitors in October.
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Top 10 French Retail Properties Ranked by French Unique Visitors Total France, Age 15+ - Home & Work Locations* October 2007 Source: comScore World Metrix |
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| Property | Total Unique Visitors (000) | % Reach |
| Total French Internet Audience | 27,756 | 100 |
| Retail | 18,057 | 65 |
| eBay | 11,389 | 41 |
| Groupe PPR | 9,663 | 35 |
| Otto Gruppe | 5,354 | 19 |
| Amazon Sites | 5,213 | 19 |
| Cdiscount.com | 4,419 | 16 |
| Apple Inc. | 4,338 | 16 |
| Ciao Sites | 3,050 | 11 |
| Orange E-Shop and Internet | 2,944 | 11 |
| LeGuide.com Sites | 2,937 | 11 |
| Rue du Commerce | 2,575 | 9 |
* Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs
Top Ten German Retail Properties
Germany’s online retail sector attracted 22.7 million unique visitors in October - reaching 68 percent of the country’s total online population. eBay attracted 17.4 million unique visitors or 52 percent of the total German Internet audience. eBay was visited by more than three million unique visitors than visited its nearest competitor, Otto Gruppe, the catalogue specialist, which attracted a total of 14.1 million visitors. As was the case in the U.K. and France, Apple Inc. enjoyed heavy visitation, attracting 4.3 million unique visitors. The site was the only multi-channel retailer to appear among the top ten online retail properties across all three of the European markets studied.
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Top 10 German Retail Properties Ranked by German Unique Visitors Total Germany, Age 15+ - Home & Work Locations* October 2007 Source: comScore World Metrix |
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| Property | Total Unique Visitors (000) |
% Reach |
| Total German Internet Audience | 33,356 | 100 |
| Retail | 22,695 | 68 |
| eBay | 17,424 | 52 |
| Otto Gruppe | 14,098 | 42 |
| Amazon Sites | 11,101 | 33 |
| QUELLE.DE | 9,402 | 28 |
| O2ONLINE.DE | 5,533 | 17 |
| NECKERMANN.DE | 5,252 | 16 |
| Ciao Sites | 5,246 | 16 |
| T-MOBILE.DE | 5,073 | 15 |
| Apple Inc. | 4,332 | 13 |
| Tchibo | 3,767 | 11 |
* Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs
About comScore
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world. This capability is based on a massive, global cross-section of more than 2 million consumers who have given comScore permission to confidentially capture their browsing and transaction behavior, including online and offline purchasing. comScore panelists also participate in survey research that captures and integrates their attitudes and intentions. Through its proprietary technology, comScore measures what matters across a broad spectrum of behavior and attitudes. comScore analysts apply this deep knowledge of customers and competitors to help clients design powerful marketing strategies and tactics that deliver superior ROI. comScore services are used by more than 800 clients, including global leaders such as AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, BBC, Carat, Cyworld, Deutsche Bank, France Telecom, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Financial Times, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestlé, Starcom, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, Verizon, ViaMichelin, Merck and Expedia. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com
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comScore, Inc.
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