Mother’s Day and Graduation Provide Boosts to Flowers, Gifts and Greetings Sites in May
Coupon Sites Surge as Americans Continue to Shop for Bargains Online
RESTON, VA – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, released its monthly analysis of U.S. consumer activity at the top online properties for May 2009 based on data from the comScore Media Metrix service. May saw online visitation surge at gift- related sites as Mother’s Day and other seasonal events prompted many to search for gifts online. Coupon sites also witnessed strong growth as bargain-hunting remained a top priority for many Americans.
“Mother’s Day, along with high school and university graduations and the beginning of wedding season, make May a traditionally strong time of year for flowers, gifts and greetings sites,” commented Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore Media Metrix. “Coinciding with gains to these sites in May we also saw a sharp increase in the number of visitors to online coupon sites this year. As rising summer gas prices put the squeeze on Americans’ overall purchasing power, online coupon sites have become an attractive resource for reducing retail costs during this gift-giving season.”
Mother’s Day Boosts Gift Sites in May
With May 10 marking Mother’s Day in 2009, the Flowers/Gifts/Greetings category climbed 16 percent to nearly 36 million visitors as Americans searched for gifts for mom. American Greetings Property led the category with 12.4 million visitors, followed by ProFlowers.com with 5.6 million visitors (up 255 percent versus the previous month) and FTD.com with 4.1 million visitors (up 123 percent).
The Jewelry/Luxury Goods/Accessories category also experienced double-digit growth, increasing 13 percent to nearly 18 million visitors during the month. Swarovski Crystal’s site, Swarovski.com, led the category with 2.4 million visitors, an increase of 125 percent versus April. Other sites in the category experiencing gains included Kay Jewelers (up 47 percent to 973,000 visitors) and Tiffany & Co. (up 15 percent to 812,000 visitors).
Coupon Category Grabs Top-Gaining Spot
With gas prices climbing and consumer discretionary income declining, millions of Americans turned to online coupon sites in May for better deals on their retail purchases. The Coupon category posted a particularly strong month, surging 19 percent to 34.7 million visitors to lead as the top-gaining category in May. Coupons Inc., which includes Coupons.com, captured the #1 position with more than 15 million visitors, a gain of 85 percent from the previous month. Eversave.com ranked second with 3.8 million visitors, followed by RetailMeNot.com with 3.5 million visitors.
Americans “Say Cheese” in May
Photo sites witnessed strong growth in May as visitors flocked to sites to post, view and order photos from such seasonal events as graduations and weddings. More than 90 million Americans, slightly less than half of the total U.S. online population, visited a photo site in May, marking a 10-percent gain versus the prior month. Facebook.com Photos led the category with 34.6 million visitors (up 5 percent), followed by Photobucket.com LLC with 28.1 million visitors (up 13 percent) and Flickr.com with 24.4 million visitors (up 11 percent).
Top 50 Properties
Google Sites continued to lead as the most visited property in May with 157 million visitors, followed by Yahoo! Sites with 151.3 million visitors and Microsoft Sites with 125.9 million visitors. Wal-Mart moved up 3 spots to #20 with 33.7 million visitors, while JPMorgan Chase Property jumped 7 spots to #38 with 21.4 million visitors.
Top 50 Ad Focus Ranking
Platform-A led the May Ad Focus ranking, reaching 91 percent of the 193.8 million Americans online. Yahoo! Network ranked second, reaching 87 percent, while Google Ad Network ranked third with an 85 percent reach. Yahoo! Sites and Google both climbed one spot grabbing the #6 and #7 positions, respectively.
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comScore Top 10 Gaining Properties by Percentage Change in Unique Visitors* (U.S.)
May 2009 vs. April 2009
Total U.S. – Home, Work and University Locations
Source: comScore Media Metrix
Total Unique Visitors (000)
Apr-09 May-09 % Change Rank
by Unique
Visitors
Total Internet: Total Audience 192,875 193,825 0 N/A
PROFLOWERS.COM 1,575 5,590 255 221
OPRAH.COM 4,420 12,118 174 88
Yum! Brands Inc. 5,458 14,741 170 68
BuddyTV 3,108 6,539 110 183
Coupons, Inc. 8,167 15,084 85 64
Jango Music Network 6,922 11,359 64 96
Sony Online 12,998 19,121 47 50
GiantRealm 3,916 5,618 43 219
Kraft Foods 5,441 6,959 28 165
Meredith Women’s Network 8,438 10,698 27 101
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*Ranking based on the top 250 properties in May 2009.
Table 2
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comScore Top 10 Gaining Site Categories* by Percentage Change in Unique Visitors (U.S.)
May 2009 vs. April 2009
Total U.S. – Home, Work and University Locations
Source: comScore Media Metrix
Total Unique Visitors (000)
Apr-09 May-09 % Change
Total Internet: Total Audience 192,875 193,825 0
Services – Coupons 29,179 34,723 19
Community – Gay/Lesbian 2,902 3,427 18
Retail – Flowers/Gifts/Greetings 31,019 35,903 16
Retail – Jewelry/Luxury Goods/Accessories 15,766 17,858 13
Services – Photos 83,041 90,972 10
News/Information – Politics 10,630 11,642 10
Retail – Food 16,568 18,046 9
Community – Teens 24,142 26,236 9
Entertainment – Humor 24,115 26,000 8
Community – Home 29,857 31,893 7
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Please refer to the following link for tables 3 & 4: http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2009/6/comScore_Media_Metrix_Ranks_Top_50_U.S._Web_Properties_for_May_2009
