Traffic to retail websites grew in December as the online holiday shopping season reached a crescendo—while consumers' holiday festivities generated a surge in traffic to flowers/gifts/greetings and e-card sites, according to comScore. In addition, traffic to shipping sites reached a 2009 high as consumers rushed to ensure timely delivery of holiday gifts.
Holiday Shopping Spurs Growth at Retail Sites
In December, traffic to each of the top retail sub-categories—Jewelry/Luxury Goods/Accessories, Sports/Outdoor, and Flowers/Gifts/Greetings sites—increased more than 23% from November.
- Jewel/Luxury Goods/Accessories websites attracted nearly 23 million visitors during the month, a 30% increase from November. eBags led the category with more than 2.9 million visitors, a 28% increase from November, followed by Coach.com with 2.2 million visitors (up 26%), Zale Corporation with 2.1 million visitors (up 48%), and Kay Jewelers with 1.7 million visitors (up 69%).
- Sports/Outdoor websites grew to nearly 39 million visitors during the month, a 25% increase from November. eBay Sports US led the category with 5.1 million visitors (up 21%), closely followed by Cabelas, Inc. with 5.0 million visitors (up 26%), DicksSportingGoods.com with 4.6 million visitors (up 39%), and SportsAuthority.com with 2.9 million visitors (up 29%).
- Flowers/Gifts/Greetings websites reached nearly 39.8 million unique visitors in December, up 23% from the November. American Greetings Property led the category with 13.6 million visitors (up 18%), followed by Gifts.com with 6.8 million visitors (up 49%), Hallmark with 5.6 million visitors (up 46%), and 1-800-Flowers.com, Inc with 2.9 million visitors (up 48%).
Tax Sites Grow as Season Nears
Tax websites ranked as the top-gaining category during the month with nearly 6.4 million unique visitors, up 54% from November, as Americans began early preparation for tax season.
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Shipping and Holiday E-cards
As shoppers rushed to ensure delivery of their gift purchases in time for the holidays, traffic to Shipping Sites increased 33% in December, attracting 36.6 million unique visitors.
UPS Sites led the category with 19.7 million visitors, a 51% increase from November, followed by USPS.com with 15.9 million visitors (up 40%), and FedEx with 12.6 million visitors (up 36%).
E-card Sites were a popular way to send holiday greetings in December as the category attracted 31.7 million visitors, a 29% increase from November. Among the most visited sites were Evite.com with nearly 8 million visitors (up 16%), AG interactive with 6.7 million visitors (up 46%), MyFunCards.com with 5.7 million visitors, and 123Greetings.com with 4.3 million visitors (up 55%).
