Attractive Discounts Bring Deluge of Buyers to Retail Sites on Cyber Monday

Tighter Budgets Resulted in Lower Dollars per Buyer vs. Year Ago

RESTON, VA, December 4, 2008 – Comscore (NASDAQ : SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released additional insights into online consumer activity on Cyber Monday, revealing where the majority of dollars spent originated as well as traffic gains for major retail sites.

As reported in Comscore’s December 3 press release, online retail sales on Cyber Monday this year increased by 15 percent over last year’s level. This gain was driven by a 22-percent increase in the number of buyers, while the average dollars spent per buyer declined by 5 percent versus year ago. This decline in dollars per buyer can be traced to a drop in the number of buying transactions completed by the average buyer.

Breakdown of Cyber Monday E-Commerce Spending
Non-Travel (Retail) Spending
Excludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases
2008 vs. 2007
Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations
Source: Comscore, Inc.

Cyber Monday

2007

2008

Percent Change

Dollars ($ Millions)

$733

$846

15%

Number of Buyers (000)

7,585

9,254

22%

Dollars per Buyer

$96.62

$91.43

-5%

Average Transaction Value

$53.89

$55.76

3%

Transactions per Buyer

1.79

1.64

-9%

“Because of the extremely attractive prices offered by a myriad of retailers, it shouldn’t be surprising that nearly two million more consumers purchased online this Cyber Monday compared to last. But, because of their reduced spending power it’s also evident that those who did buy were unable or unwilling to spend as much per person as we saw last year,” said Comscore chairman Gian Fulgoni. “That said, it’s clear that Cyber Monday has become a well publicized event that has fundamentally captured consumers’ attention and a meaningful share of their wallets.”

Work Computers Accounted for Half of Cyber Monday Spending

The Cyber Monday phenomenon is driven primarily by online spending from work computers as people return to work after the Thanksgiving weekend and begin making their holiday gift purchases out of view of family members and from computers with ultra fast connections. Similar to previous years, work computers accounted for approximately half of total online spending on Cyber Monday. Interestingly, although they represent a relatively small percentage (7 percent) of overall Cyber Monday spending, international consumers spent 44 percent more online at U.S. sites than they did in 2007, a potential consequence of the far faster ramp up in Internet usage that is occurring in many less mature international markets than in the U.S today.

Breakdown of Cyber Monday E-Commerce Spending by Location
Non-Travel (Retail) Spending
Excludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases
2008 vs. 2007
Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations
Source: Comscore, Inc.

Cyber Monday Spending ($ Millions)

2007

2008

Percent of 2008 Spending

All Locations

$733

$846

100%

Home

$297

$334

39%

Work

$372

$426

50%

University

$22

$25

3%

International

$42

$60

7%

Retail Sites Draw Massive Visitor Gains on Cyber Monday Relative to Depressed November Levels

More than 57 million Americans visited retail sites on Cyber Monday, representing a 33-percent jump versus the average daily visitors in November 2008, a month that generally saw reduced visitation to retail sites as consumers struggled to assimilate a succession of negative economic events. The most visited retail site on Cyber Monday was eBay, which grew 45 percent over November levels to nearly 13 million visitors, followed by Amazon Sites with 9.2 million visitors (up 56 percent), Wal-Mart with 6.8 million visitors (up 90 percent), and Target Corporation with 4.8 million visitors (up 54 percent).

Top 20 Most Visited Retailer Sites on Cyber Monday (December 1, 2008)
December 1, 2008 vs. November 2008 (average)
Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations
Source: Comscore, Inc.

Average Daily Unique Visitors (000)

Month of November 2008

Cyber Monday (Dec. 1)

Percent Change

Retail Category

42,927

57,129

33%

eBay

8,930

12,981

45%

Amazon Sites

5,894

9,207

56%

Wal-Mart

3,569

6,766

90%

Target Corporation

3,108

4,801

54%

Apple Inc.

2,567

3,683

43%

Best Buy Sites

1,257

2,908

131%

Dell

1,550

2,372

53%

Toysrus Sites

1,432

2,162

51%

OVERSTOCK.COM

1,519

2,053

35%

Moviefone

1,315

1,968

50%

Hewlett Packard

1,004

1,952

94%

SEARS.COM

1,044

1,911

83%

JCPenney Sites

1,013

1,873

85%

Circuit City Stores, Inc.

1,020

1,623

59%

Macy's Inc.

823

1,573

91%

AmericanGreetings Property

821

1,461

78%

OLDNAVY.COM

743

1,384

86%

NETFLIX.COM

808

1,318

63%

Kohls Corporation

771

1,113

44%

Limitedbrands

676

1,110

64%

CyberMonday.com Draws 1 Million Visitors on Cyber Monday

For some time, online shopping resources have been a popular way for consumers to compare prices and obtain the best deal – whether their ultimate purchase was completed online or in a retail store. In a tight economy, the popularity of these resources can increase even more. Cyber Monday saw significant visitor gains at most of the top retail resources, led by Shopzilla.com Sites with nearly 2 million visitors (up 98 percent versus the November base period), followed by Yahoo! Shopping with 1.9 million visitors (up 81 percent) and Google Product Search with 1.1 million (up 59 percent). CyberMonday.com, Shop.org’s online round-up of the best Cyber Monday deals, attracted 1 million unique visitors.

Top 10 Most Visited Online Retail Resource Sites on Cyber Monday (December 1, 2008)
December 1, 2008 vs. November 2008 (average)
Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations
Source: Comscore, Inc.

Average Daily Unique Visitors (000)

Month of November 2008

Cyber Monday (Dec. 1)

Percent Change

Retail Category

42,927

57,129

33%

Shopzilla.com Sites

985

1,953

98%

Yahoo! Shopping

1,024

1,856

81%

Google Product Search

697

1,110

59%

MSN Shopping

672

1,108

65%

Nextag.com Sites

367

1,010

176%

CyberMonday.com

13

1,004

7578%

SHOPLOCAL.COM

585

878

50%

ValueClick Sites

531

675

27%

PRONTO.COM

288

638

121%

Yahoo! Stores

254

571

125%

About Comscore
Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/boilerplate.

Press
Bill Daddi
Daddi Brand Communications
646-370-1341
press@comscore.com

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