Hitwise predicts bumper Xmas for gadgets
- Added:
- Sep 24, 2007
The research is based on analysis of the top 2,000 UK Internet search terms that sent traffic to a Hitwise Custom Category consisting of the top 100 online retail websites in the UK during the four weeks ending 22nd September 2007.
Five times as many searches for Nintendo Wii than Sony Playstation 3
The Nintendo Wii is the most searched for gaming console in the UK, ranking as the sixth most popular gadget heading into Christmas, ahead of the Xbox 360 at number 7 and the Nintendo DS at number 8. There were 5 times as many searches for the Nintendo Wii as the Sony Playstation 3, which did not make the top 10 gadget list.
Table 1: Top gadgets by share of searches
|
Rank |
Product |
% of searches |
|
1 |
Mobile Phones |
46% |
|
2 |
Computers |
34% |
|
3 |
iPod |
6% |
|
4 |
Satellite Navigation |
3% |
|
5 |
High Definition TV |
2% |
|
6 |
Wii |
1% |
|
7 |
xbox 360 |
1% |
|
8 |
DS Lite |
1% |
|
9 |
Printers |
1% |
|
10 |
Hard Drives |
<1% |
Mobile phones are the most popular gadgets in the UK, capturing 46% of all searches, followed by computers, iPods, satellite navigation systems and high definition televisions. The success for the TomTom brand of satellite navigation systems continues, with the number of searches for ‘tomtom’ double that for the generic term ‘sat nav’. Searches for ‘external hard drive’ have increased by 15% year on year, reflecting a desire among UK consumers to back up their precious collections of digital music, photos and video.
Nokia N95 the most searched for mobile phone
The Nokia N95 multimedia phone captures almost one in ten searches for mobile phone models in the UK, making it the most popular handset. It is followed closely by the stylish Nokia 6300, with 8.7% of searches, and the Samsung G600 5 mega pixel camera phone, with 8.5%.
Table 2: Top mobile phone models by share of searches
|
Rank |
Model |
% of searches |
|
1 |
Nokia N95 |
9.4% |
|
2 |
Nokia 6300 |
8.7% |
|
3 |
Samsung g600 |
8.5% |
|
4 |
Samsung u600 |
6.2% |
|
5 |
Sony Ericsson w580i |
5.6% |
|
6 |
Samsung d900 |
2.7% |
|
7 |
Nokia n73 |
2.7% |
|
8 |
Samsung e250 |
2.5% |
|
9 |
Samsung e900 |
2.5% |
|
10 |
Nokia 5300 |
2.4% |
The top mobile phone manufacturer by share of UK Internet searches is Nokia, which receives 35% of searches across the top 5 brands, followed by Sony Ericsson with 29% and Samsung with 24%. Motorola is at number four with a 6% share, followed by LG with 5%.
Apple the most popular gadget brand; iPod continues to dominate the market
There are 14 times as many searches for the Apple iPod as for all the other MP3 players combined. Two thirds of searches are for the generic iPod, while one in five searchers is looking specifically for the iPod Nano, which has seen searches increase by 67% year on year.
Table 3: Most searched for gadget brands
|
Rank |
Brand |
% of searches |
|
1 |
Apple |
8.8% |
|
2 |
Dell |
5.1% |
|
3 |
HP |
1.3% |
|
4 |
Nokia |
1.2% |
|
5 |
Samsung |
1.1% |
|
6 |
Sony Ericsson |
1.0% |
|
7 |
Sony |
0.8% |
|
8 |
Nintendo |
0.7% |
|
9 |
Microsoft |
0.5% |
|
10 |
Motorola |
0.2% |
“The new iPod Touch and the UK release of the iPhone were announced too late to have a significant impact on the retail search data”, commented Robin Goad, Director of Research at Hitwise, “but there is a huge amount of internet buzz about both products. For example, the volume of searches for ‘iPhone’ sending traffic to News and Media websites has increased 5 fold over the last month. With Apple the most searched for gadget brand in the UK, it seems likely that both products will find eager fans amongst British consumers”. Dell is the second most searched for brand, receiving almost four times as many searches as its nearest rival HP.
High School Musical dominates in the year of the downloads
In a further sign that this is set to be a bumper digital Christmas, searches for entertainment downloads currently outstrip searches for CDs by a factor of 27 and DVDs by a factor of 13. Searches for downloads accounted for 35% of searches for entertainment products, almost double the amount for books, and five times more than games.
Disney’s High School Musical franchise tops the list of entertainment products, followed by searches for the Halo 3 and Fifa 2008. Hip hop superstar Kanye West is the most popular musician, receiving over three times as many searches as his rival 50 Cent. In addition to Fifa 2008, two other football games, Pro Evolution Soccer and Football Manager 2007, also made it into the top 10.
Table 4: Top entertainment products by share of searches
|
Rank |
Product |
% of searches |
|
1 |
High School Musical |
3.1% |
|
2 |
Halo 3 |
2.6% |
|
3 |
Fifa 2008 |
2.1% |
|
4 |
Kanye West |
1.2% |
|
5 |
Pro Evolution Soccer |
1.0% |
|
6 |
Now compilations |
0.9% |
|
7 |
Football Manager 2007 |
0.8% |
|
8 |
Ibiza Annual |
0.7% |
|
9 |
Runescape |
0.7% |
|
10 |
Roald Dahl |
0.6% |
Source: www.hitwise.com