Toy sites, apparel and electronic malls all had traffic increases of 75% or more from just before to just after Thanksgiving, according to a new study.
According to the Nielsen/NetRatings Index, reveal that between Wednesday, Nov. 24 and Sunday, Nov. 28 toy sites increased the number of visitors from just over 400,000 to almost 750,000, an 85.6% increase. Apparel and online mall sites grew by 77.2% and 76.3%, respectively.
Other categories that showed significant gains during the five days included gifts (49.2%); electronics (46.2%) and books/music/video (41.2%). Trailing, but still showing increases, were computer hardware sites (25.6%); auctions (13%) and software (4.4%).
“Shoppers are crowding online sites earlier this year against the fear that selection might not hold through the upcoming weeks,” said NetRatings vice president of analytical services Allen Weiner. “Cybershoppers are allowing extra time in case the virtual lines are too long at some of the more popular sites. Given that Web consumers are shopping early and often, the online shopping season will end somewhere from five days to a week before Christmas Day.”
Weiner attributed the relatively uninspired sales of computers and software to such purchases increasingly being a mater of personal taste, and to consumers putting off such purchases until Y2K fears are quieted.
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