UK and France lead way for online shopping

This study tracked the number of visits to online retail sites each week since October 29, using data collected from the comScore World Metrix audience measurement service.

Online Retail Site Visits Increase in November

In the U.K., cyber shopping visits continued to gain momentum in the last week of November, up 34 percent versus the average weekly online shopping activity in the eight weeks prior to the start of the Christmas shopping season. French cyber shopping activity was also up 27 percent over the base period.

Christmas shopping activity in Germany has started more slowly, primarily due to the trade union strikes in the transport and service industries and the reported decline in consumer confidence. 

“While the number of visits to online retail sites is developing well for the Christmas shopping season in the U.K. and France, retail site visitation in Germany is still not higher than it was before the Christmas shopping season started.  This lack of online retail growth is consistent with the softness in retail spending in Germany that has been widely reported,” observed Bob Ivins, comScore EVP, European Markets.

*Point index represents the percentage change in the number of visits to online retail sites compared to the pre-Christmas season base period average

**Total U.K.., French & German Internet Audiences, Age 15+, Home & Work Locations. Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs

***Defined as the average weekly visits to online retail sites excluding auction sites  for the period Sep 3 – Oct 28 

U.K. Online Retail Traffic Leaders

Visits to online retail sites in the U.K. were led during November by the online retailer Amazon Sites, with a nine percent share of total online retail category visits for the month. Apple Inc., which also has high-street stores in the U.K., had a six percent share, while the Home Retail Group, owner of multi-channel retailers Argos and Homebase, had a four percent share. Supermarket chain Tesco, also held a four percent share. Rounding out the top five positions is online retailer Play.com sites with 3 percent of the retail site visits. 

*Average share of total visits to online retail sites by U.K. visitors

 for the period Oct 29 – Dec 2 excluding auction sites

** Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs 

French Online Retail Traffic Leaders

Visits to online retail sites in France were led during November by Groupe PPR. The French multi-channel retailer, which owns brands such as LaRedoute.fr and Fnac.com, had an eleven percent share of total visits to the online retail sector, over twice that of its closest competitor, Apple Inc., which had a five percent share. Amazon Sites and Otto Gruppe followed, each with a four percent share.  

*Average share of total visits to online retail sites by French visitors

 for the period Oct 29 – Dec 2, excluding auction sites

** Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs 

German Online Retail Traffic Leaders

Visits to online retail sites in Germany were led during November by multi-channel catalogue specialist, Otto Gruppe, with a 13 percent share of the online retail visits for the month. It was followed by pure play online retailer, Amazon Sites – also a popular choice in the U.K. and France – with a nine percent share. Quelle.de, Apple, Inc, and Neckermann.de round out the top five, with 7 percent, 4 percent, and 3 percent shares of online retail visits, respectively. 

*Average share of total visits to online retail sites by German visitors

 for the period Oct 29 – Dec 2, excluding auction sites

** Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs

source: www.comscore.com