Sales During Online Holiday Shopping Season Decline by 3 Percent

Despite Weak Season Apple, Amazon, Wal-Mart and Sears Post Traffic Increases
 
RESTON, VA – comScore (NASDAQ : SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, reported its tracking of holiday season retail e-commerce spending for the holiday shopping season, beginning November 1 and ending December 23, the last day to purchase online with the possibility of delivery by Christmas Eve. Online spending reached $25.5 billion during that period, down 3 percent versus the corresponding shopping days in 2007.



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2008 Holiday Season vs. Corresponding Days* in 2007
Non-Travel (Retail) Spending
Excludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases
Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations
Source: comScore, Inc.

Holiday Season                            Millions ($)
                                                       2007      2008      Pct Change
November 1 – December 23         $26,332    $25,537       -3%
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*Corresponding days based on corresponding shopping days (Oct. 27 – Dec. 18, 2007)
 
“The 2008 online holiday shopping season has declined 3 percent versus year ago, falling behind our expectation of flat sales this year,” said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. “This marks the first time we’ve seen negative growth rates for the holiday season since we began tracking e-commerce in 2001. The combination of having five fewer shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas and the severe economic headwinds faced by consumers has made this a really tough season for retailers, both offline and online.”
 
Q4 E-Commerce Spending to Date
The growth rate for Q4 2008 to date compared to the same period a year ago will end up looking marginally worse than the holiday season results. For the period of October 1 – December 28 compared to the same calendar days in 2008, e-commerce spending is down 4 percent to 36.8 billion. The fourth quarter of 2008 will also mark the first full quarter to record a negative growth rate since comScore began tracking e-commerce.
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Fourth Quarter-to-Date E-Commerce Spending
Non-Travel (Retail) Spending
Excludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases
Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations
Source: comScore, Inc.

Q4-to-Date                               Millions ($)
                                                     2007       2008      Pct Change
October 1 – December 28         $38,376     $36,803      -4%
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Apple and Amazon among Top Traffic Gainers in December
Despite soft online sales this holiday season, consumers continued to shop online for the best deals. In the period of December 1-24 vs. the corresponding shopping days last year, several top retailers achieved growth in visitation to their sites. eBay remained the most visited retail site with 85.4 million visitors but saw a slight decline of 4 percent in visitors, while three of the top five  most visited sites recorded gains. Amazon Sites grew 7 percent to 76.2 million visitors, followed by Wal-Mart (up 4 percent to 51.5 million visitors), Target (down 1 percent to 46.8 million visitors) and Apple Inc. (up 19 percent to 35 million visitors).
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Traffic Growth to Top Retailer Sites
Dec. 1 – Dec. 24, 2008 vs. Corresponding Days* in 2007
Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations
Source: comScore Media Metrix

                                      Unique Visitors (000)
                                                     2007      2008     Percent Change
Total Internet                           171,113    179,997       5%
eBay                                           88,894     85,442      -4%
Amazon Sites                             70,975     76,240       7%
Wal-Mart                                    49,632     51,546       4%
Target Corporation                     47,338     46,837      -1%
Apple Inc.                                   29,450     35,017      19%
Best Buy Sites                              28,602     28,555       0%
JCPenney Sites                            21,329     18,918     -11%
Toysrus Sites                              19,817     18,075      -9%
Sears.com                                   18,010     18,413       2%
Circuit City Stores, Inc.               19,466     15,456     -21%
Overstock.com                           18,911     15,951     -16%
AmericanGreetings Property       17,273     14,666     -15%
Hewlett Packard                         15,217     19,425      28%
Dell                                            17,279     14,305     -17%
Macy’s Inc.                                 15,715     15,868       1%
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*Corresponding days based on corresponding shopping days (Oct. 27 – Dec. 19, 2007)
 
comScore’s Summary of  2008 Holiday Online Retail Spending by Key Time Period
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Online Non-Travel (Retail) Holiday Consumer Spending
Excludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases
Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations
Source: comScore, Inc.

                                             Millions ($)
                                                         2007       2008       Pct Change
January – October                           $93,551    $102,144        9%
November 1 – December 23*          $26,332     $25,537       -3%
November 27 (Thanksgiving Day)*       $273        $288        6%
November 28 (Black Friday)*                 $531        $534        1%
December 1 (Cyber Monday)*                $733        $846       15%
Heaviest Online Shopping Day              $881        $887        1%
                                   (Dec. 10)     (Dec. 9)  
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* Versus Corresponding Shopping Days in 2007 Relative to Thanksgiving
 
About comScore
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