Americans Flood Online Stores as Holidays Approach

Comscore MMX Announces Top 50 U.S. Internet Property Rankings for November 2004

RESTON, Va., Dec. 20, 2004 – Comscore MMX today released its monthly analysis of online consumer behavior, which reported that 128 million consumers visited sites in the Retail category in November 2004, representing fully 80 percent of the U.S. Internet population. Retail sites, such as those operated by KB Toys, Best Buy and Toys“R”Us, dominated this month’s top gaining properties ranking, with monthly increases ranging from 45 percent to 155 percent.

“Consumers will spend more than $15 billion online this holiday season, but the Web’s impact on retail extends far beyond its application as a direct selling medium,” said Peter Daboll, president and CEO of Comscore MMX. “Tens of millions of Americans use the Internet to research products that they ultimately buy offline, helping make the shopping process more efficient and convenient than ever before.”

Eight of the Top 10 Gaining Categories Were Retail Related
Eight of November’s top ten gaining categories were Retail subcategories (see table 2). The Jewelry, Luxury Goods & Accessories category led the way, with an increase in visitation of nearly 40 percent compared to October. In November, more than 13 million Americans visited this category, in which each of the top ten sites saw double-digit percentage increases. Comscore research has also revealed that Jewelry & Watches is the fastest growing product category measured by actual online sales in the year-to-date through December 12. So far this year, consumers have spent $1.35 billion in the category, an increase of 58 percent compared to the corresponding period last year.

Parents desperately hunting for this year’s hard-to-find toys turned to Toys category sites in droves last month. Nearly 22 million Americans visited the category, an increase of 24 percent compared to October and 14 percent compared to November 2003. Category leader Toys“R”Us saw traffic jump 68 percent from October to November to 9.6 million visitors. KBToys jumped 155 percent to 3.2 million visitors, making it the top gaining property in November (see table 1).

The Department Stores category, which includes such well-known traditional retailers as Wal-Mart, Target, JCPenney, Sears and Kohl’s, was up 21 percent between October and November 2004 and 29 percent compared to last November. A Comscore analysis revealed that aggregate holiday spending at the Web sites of 25 major multi-channel retailers is up more than 50 percent, a level of growth more than twice that of total online retail (23 percent).

The two non-retail categories that ranked among top ten gaining categories in November were Hobbies/Lifestyles – Food and e-Cards. Nearly 34 million Americans visited the Food category in search of Thanksgiving recipes and other meal planning tips. The top four sites in the category, FoodNetwork.com, KraftFoods.com AllRecipes.com and About Food, all saw traffic increase 20 percent or more. The e-Cards category saw a 12-percent increase in traffic, driven primarily by a substantial pickup in visitation to category leader American Greetings. The site drew 13.5 million visitors in November, an increase of 27 percent versus October.

Top 50 Properties
The holiday season provided the impetus for several notable changes in the Top 50 property ranking. Best Buy Sites shot up 55 spots to place it at number 20 in November, bolstered by the nearly 10 million visitors that visited the retailer’s BestBuyGiftFinder.com site.

Among sites in the Top 50 Properties in both October and November, Target Corporation had the largest jump, moving up 15 spots to number 25. Sears Sites posted a similar 15-spot gain to move into the Top 50 at number 39. Overstock.com (November’s number 31), Shopping.com Sites (number 22) and Sony Online (number 37) gained 10, 6 and 6 spots, respectively.

AmericanGreetings Property received a 27-percent boost from holiday e-cards, moving it 12 spots to number 38. Thanksgiving traffic to FoodNetwork.com helped E.W Scripps post a 27-percent month-over-month gain, as well as a 24-percent gain from last November, to finish in the number 40 spot with 13.2 million visitors.

Top 50 Ad Focus Ranking
Comscore MMX’s ranking of advertising-supported media brands includes media properties, such as Yahoo! and MSN, as well as advertising networks, such as Advertising.com and TribalFusion. Instead of focusing on corporate ownership, this reporting mirrors, as closely as possible, the manner in which advertising is actually packaged and sold. With this ranking, media planners and buyers can more easily evaluate interactive marketing options on an equal footing.

This month’s Ad Focus ranking continues using the unduplicated view. This provides a more comprehensive view of the various sites that are supported by advertising. Comscore MMX clients may still view the duplicated version through the MyMetrix online reporting system. Advertising.com, Yahoo! and MSN retained the top 3 spots in the Ad Focus ranking for the seventh consecutive month, while analysis of election returns and a heavy news month joined forces to move CNN and MSNBC four spots each, to finish at number 21 and 22, in November’s Ad Focus ranking.

TABLE 1

Top Ten Gaining Properties by Percentage Change in Unique Visitors*
November 2004 vs. October 2004
Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users
Source: Comscore MMX

Property

Oct-04 (000)

Nov-04 (000)

Percentage Change

Rank by Unique Visitors

Total Internet Users

158,352

159,736

1%

N/A

KB Toys

1,267

3,236

155%

229

Best Buy Sites

8,179

20,403

149%

20

SMARTBARGAINS.COM

3,238

5,844

80%

116

Vonage Holdings Corp

1,876

3,328

77%

224

CAPITOLADVANTAGE.COM

1,863

3,215

73%

231

Toysrus Sites

5,703

9,589

68%

65

ALLRECIPES.COM

3,202

4,840

51%

142

PriceGrabber

3,510

5,201

48%

132

KOHLS.COM

3,423

5,067

48%

134

Barnes & Noble

5,257

7,625

45%

89

*Ranking based on the top 250 properties in November

TABLE 2

Top Ten Gaining Categories by Unique Visitors
November 2004 vs. October 2004
Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users
Source: Comscore MMX

Oct-04 (000)

Nov-04 (000)

Percentage Change

Total Internet Users

158,352

159,736

1%

Retail – Jewelry/Luxury Goods/Accessories

9,304

13,014

40%

Retail – Toys

17,571

21,861

24%

Retail – Department Stores

39,576

47,937

21%

Retail – Fragrances/Cosmetics

9,832

11,793

20%

Retail – Sports/Outdoor

17,136

20,159

18%

Retail – Flowers/Gifts/Greetings

28,264

32,949

17%

Retail – Mall

39,552

45,708

16%

Retail – Music

26,748

30,715

15%

Hobbies/Lifestyles – Food

29,394

33,600

14%

Services – e-cards

35,423

39,540

12%

TABLE 3

Top 50 Properties
November 2004
Total U.S. - Home, Work and University Locations
Unique Visitors (000)
Source: Comscore MMX

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors (000)

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors (000)

Total Internet Users

159,736

1

Yahoo! Sites

116,294

26

Expedia Travel

17,783

2

Time Warner Network

113,121

27

Gannett Sites

17,011

3

MSN-Microsoft Sites

110,664

28

Intermix Media

16,975

4

Google Sites

68,968

29

iVillage.com: The Womens Network

16,861

5

eBay

61,167

30

Bank of America

15,752

6

Amazon Sites

43,080

31

OVERSTOCK.COM

15,702

7

Ask Jeeves

39,095

32

Shopzilla Sites

14,947

8

About/Primedia

38,299

33

ORBITZ.COM

14,754

9

Viacom Online

34,696

34

ESPN Network

14,444

10

Symantec

32,384

35

News Corp. Online

13,854

11

Monster Worldwide

31,078

36

CareerBuilder LLC

13,665

12

Lycos, Inc.

28,514

37

Sony Online

13,529

13

CNET Networks

28,377

38

AmericanGreetings Property

13,525

14

Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG)

28,343

39

Sears Sites

13,493

15

Wal-Mart

25,823

40

E.W. Scripps

13,218

16

Verizon Communications Corporation

25,568

41

Dell

13,203

17

Real.com Network

24,283

42

SBC Communications

12,825

18

Weather Channel, The

24,246

43

Comcast Corporation

12,776

19

AT&T Properties

23,789

44

NFL Internet Group

12,555

20

Best Buy Sites

20,403

45

Classmates.com Sites

12,536

21

Weatherbug.com Property

19,205

46

United Online, Inc

12,528

22

Shopping.com Sites

18,818

47

JPMorgan Chase Property

12,485

23

Gorilla Nation Media

18,792

48

Macromedia

12,425

24

InfoSpace Network

18,607

49

Trip Network Inc.

12,334

25

Target Corporation

18,464

50

EA Online

12,200

TABLE 4

Ad Focus Ranking
Unique Visitors (000)
Total U.S. - Home, Work and University Locations
November 2004
Source: Comscore MMX

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors (000)

Reach %

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors (000)

Reach %

Total Internet Users

159,736

100%

1

Advertising.com**

122,180

76%

26

GATOR (App)

22,469

14%

2

Yahoo!

114,637

72%

27

REAL.COM

19,244

12%

3

MSN

96,341

60%

28

WeatherBug

18,999

12%

4

TrafficMarketplace**

91,612

57%

29

Expedia Travel

17,783

11%

5

AOL

84,609

53%

30

Netscape

17,441

11%

6

Casale Media Network**

82,772

52%

31

iVillage.com: The Womens Network

16,861

11%

7

YAHOO.COM Home Page

74,114

46%

32

CareerBuilder Network

16,227

10%

8

GOOGLE.COM

66,646

42%

33

Disney Online

16,091

10%

9

ValueClick Media**

61,911

39%

34

EA Online Syndicated Games

14,785

9%

10

Tribal Fusion**

58,898

37%

35

ORBITZ.COM

14,754

9%

11

EBAY.COM

58,275

36%

36

ESPN Network

14,444

9%

12

MSN.COM Home Page

51,156

32%

37

MONSTER.COM

14,049

9%

13

24/7 Real Media**

44,251

28%

38

BIZRATE.COM

13,869

9%

14

BURST! Media**

39,980

25%

39

Travelocity All

13,615

9%

15

Ask Jeeves

39,095

24%

40

WebMD Medscape Health Network

12,750

8%

16

EBAY.COM Home Page

34,890

22%

41

CLASSMATES.COM

12,536

8%

17

MAPQUEST.COM

33,089

21%

42

SuperPages Network

12,421

8%

18

Vendare Group Search-New.Net Sites

32,294

20%

43

CNN.COM Home Page

12,318

8%

19

Lycos Network

28,621

18%

44

EA Online Games

11,566

7%

20

ClickAgents Network**

25,736

16%

45

INFOSPACE.COM

10,779

7%

21

CNN

25,282

16%

46

IMDB.COM

10,626

7%

22

MSNBC

24,926

16%

47

ENTREPRENEUR.COM

10,544

7%

23

ABOUT.COM

23,904

15%

48

EARTHLINK.NET

9,916

6%

24

CNET

23,755

15%

49

GO.COM

9,275

6%

25

WEATHER.COM

23,031

14%

50

CHEAPTICKETS.COM

9,237

6%

**Indicates that the entity is an advertising network.

About Comscore MMX
Comscore 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 Networks
Comscore Networks provides unparalleled insight into consumer behavior and attitudes. This capability is based on a massive, global cross-section of more than 2 million consumers who have given Comscore explicit 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 patent-pending technology, Comscore measures what matters across a broad spectrum of behavior and attitudes. Comscore consultants 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 global leaders such as AOL, Yahoo!, Verizon, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Tribune Interactive, ESPN, Nestlé, Bank of America, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, GlaxoSmithKline and Orbitz. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com.

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

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