The post-Christmas period has become increasingly important for online retailers - and 2009 proved no exception. Boxing Day (26/12/09) was again the busiest day for online retailers during 2009. As the chart illustrates, 27/12/09 was the second busiest - exceeding even the pre-Christmas peaks on 06/12/09 and 07/12/09 ('Cyber Sunday' and 'Cyber Monday').
However, despite the Boxing Day and December 27 increase, there was less of a Christmas Day surge in 2009. UK Internet visits to online retailers increased by 36% between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, whereas in 2008, the increase was 39%. Christmas Day 2008 was the seventh busiest for online retailers; while in 2009 was closer to the 30th.
Retailers that received an above average spike in traffic after Christmas included Next, Currys, Debenhams, Tesco Direct, Comet, and PC World, all of which hosted popular sales boosting their online presence. UK sale related searches increased by 25% the w/e 26/12/09, where the most popular search term was 'next sale', accounting for 1 in 7 sale-related searches.
Most of the 'sale' terms related to the fashion, consumer electronics and department stores. The majority also refer to multi-channel retailers (i.e. both a high street and web presence), which saw websites of high street retailers increase the w/e 26/12/09 making it their busiest week online in 2009. On the other hand, the online-only retailers did experience a decrease in UK Internet visits.
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Position for the w/e 5/12/09: # 12,059
Position for the w/e 19/12/09: # 6,986
Positions Jumped: 5,073
A cold snap that swept across the UK during December saw Internet users increase their searches for warmer apparel items. Australian Ugg boots distributor Ugg Boots for All (www.uggboots4all.com.au) capitalised on the colder weather with an 80% surge in online traffic between the w/e 05/12/09 and the w/e 19/12/09. The site increased their year-on-year online market share by 27.6% for December.
Ugg Boots for All was one of 5 other Australian companies in the UK Top 20 websites receiving traffic from the search term 'ugg boots' the w/e 19/12/09. The site did however have a higher than average paid search rate, with over 86.7% of all clicks being paid.
The UK VAT rate returned to 17.5% on January 1 2010 and, as a result, UK Internet searches related to the change also increased. Searches for our 'VAT Increase' portfolio (including: 'vat increase 2010', 'vat rate change' and 'when does vat go back to 17.5%') increased by 54% the w/e 02/01/10
Nearly 47% of people searching for information about the VAT increase the w/e 02/01/10 ended up at Government run websites. News and Media websites picked up 13.3% of clicks, while Business and Finance sites came in third (12.9%). The latter category paid for 26.8% of the traffic it received, with Business Information sites (e.g. Business Link) bidding aggressively on a number of terms.
Perhaps surprisingly, only 4.2% of searchers ended up at a retail website, implying that retailers may have missed an opportunity. However, looking at traffic to the Shopping and Classifieds category, it's clear that the VAT increase has led to a last minute surge in visits. Between the w/e 26/12/09 and the w/e 02/01/10, UK Internet visits to retail websites increased by 13%; during the previous year, the increase over the same period was just 2%.
Consumers have clearly been looking to take advantage of the final few days of 15% VAT. The House and Garden sector saw the largest increase with a 67% increase in traffic the w/e 02/01/10. Other sectors selling big ticket items also experienced above average increases, with the Sport & Fitness, Computers and Appliances & Electronics categories all performing well.
BBC Radio 1 website has its busiest ever day thanks to RATM vs. X Factor chart battle
The BBC Radio 1 website experienced its busiest day on 20/12/09. Listeners logged on to discover that Rage Against the Machine's 'Killing in the Name' had beaten X Factor winner Joe McElderry's 'The Climb' to the Christmas number one spot. The website was the 36th most visited in the UK and picked up four times its usual amount of traffic. Over 56% of the downstream traffic from the BBC Radio 1 website went to other BBC properties including BBC iPlayer, the BBC homepage, BBC Sport and BBC Music on 20/12/09.
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Financial Services Quarterly Review
Exclusive to Hitwise clients, this quarterly report provides in-depth analysis of the trends that matter to the business and finance and insurance industries. The latest Review, based on trends from October – December 2009, includes a focus on potential fro a recovery in the UK property market and the demographics of finance comparison websites.
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Harrogate, February 4, 2010
Hosted by Audiences Yorkshire, this Industry Briefing will explore the value of benchmarking for both ticketed and non-ticketed organisations. The Keynote presentation will be led by Robin Goad, Experian Hitwise Research Director.
Find out more.
Travel Technology Show 2010
9th and 10th February 2010 - Earls Court, London
Experian Hitwise Research Director, Robin Goad, will be speaking on the social media panel at the Travel Technology Show on 09/02/10 from 13:15 to 14:00. The show offers a great opportunity to learn more about innovative & integral technology solutions in the travel industry.
Find out more.
Technology for Marketing and Advertising (TFM&A)
London, February 23, 2010 - February 24, 2010
Visit Experian Marketing Services at stand C21 to learn about our latest offers. Join Experian Hitwise Research Director, Robin Goad, on Tuesday 23rd at 2:30pm as he speaks about how retailers and others benefited from social media over the Christmas period.
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