Germans Shop Later Online; Found to Spend Three Times More than the French and Nearly 1.5 Times More than the U.K. this Holiday Season
Germany’s most active shopping week occurred two weeks before Christmas (11-17 December — Week 7 of the holiday shopping season), when visits to secure Web pages (where purchases can be completed) were up 78 percent versus the pre-holiday shopping period from 28 August – 29 October. The most active shopping week in both the U.K. and France was three weeks before Christmas (4-10 December — Week 6 of the holiday shopping season), with visits to secure Web pages up 69 percent in the U.K. and 90 percent in France versus the pre-holiday shopping period.
“European online retailers appear to have done well this holiday season. High broadband penetration, familiarity with browsing and buying online, and confidence in the channel have all combined to make this a record Christmas for most online retailers in Europe – and to highlight the increasing importance of the online channel for consumers and retailers,” said Bob Ivins, managing director of comScore Europe. “Almost across the board, activity on the secure buying pages of online retail sites during the holidays rose 50 percent above the average level of activity prior to the holidays, indicating that European online retailers had a very merry Christmas.”
TABLE 1
|
European
Holiday Cyber Shopping Index* U.K., France and Germany Source: comScore World Metrix |
|||
|
|
U.K. |
France |
Germany |
|
Holiday Season Shopping Periods |
|
|
|
|
Pre-Holiday Base Period Index |
100 |
100 |
100 |
|
Week 1 (10/30- 11/5) |
137 |
153 |
157 |
|
Week 2 (11/6-11/12) |
146 |
162 |
153 |
|
Week 3 (11/13-11/19) |
151 |
165 |
156 |
|
Week 4 (11/20-11/26) |
165 |
179 |
163 |
|
Week 5 (11/27-12/3) |
169 |
179 |
172 |
|
Week 6 (12/4-12/10) |
169 |
190 |
176 |
|
Week 7 (12/11-12/17) |
164 |
188 |
178 |
|
Week 8 (12/18 -12/24) |
118 |
164 |
150 |
|
Week 9 (12/25 – 12/31) |
98 |
148 |
114 |
*Defined as the change
in number of visits to secure sections of retail sites compared to the
pre-holiday base period, which is the average of weekly visits to secure
sections of online retail sites from 28 August - 29 October. An index of
165 should be read as, “65 percent more visits to secure sections of retail
sites took place, compared to the average (100) during the pre-holiday period.”
French Holiday Review
Throughout the entire holiday period Groupe PPR, CDISCOUNT.com, and Amazon Sites captured nearly half of all cyber shopping activity in France. Specifically, Groupe PPR captured 27 percent of cyber shopping visits in France while CDiscount.com captured 13 percent and Amazon Sites captured 8 percent. CDiscount.com, in particular, saw a remarkable increase in market share versus the pre-holiday shopping period — more than doubling its pre-holiday market share of 8 percent to 18 percent at its peak during Week 8 of the holiday shopping season and increasing 124 percent overall versus the September-October baseline period.
TABLE 2
|
Top French Retail Sites by Share of Cyber Shopping Visits from French Users* Holiday Period 2006: 30 October- 31 December Total France – Home and Work Locations, Visitors Age 15+** Source: comScore World Metrix |
||
|
|
French Avg. Share ofCyber Shopping Visits |
French Cyber Shopping Index during holiday period versus pre-holiday base of 100 |
|
|
30 October - 31 December |
|
|
Groupe PPR |
27% |
153 |
|
CDISCOUNT.COM |
13% |
224 |
|
Amazon Sites |
8% |
162 |
|
Apple Computer, Inc. |
7% |
116 |
|
3 Suisses |
6% |
146 |
|
ALAPAGE.COM |
4% |
185 |
|
QUELLE.FR |
3% |
115 |
|
Yves Rocher |
2% |
144 |
|
Hewlett Packard |
2% |
130 |
|
VirginMega.FR |
1% |
134 |
*Percentage of total shopping visits to secure
sections of retail sites
** Excludes traffic from public computers such as
Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs
***Not including eBay
U.K. Holiday Review
Cyber shopping visits in the U.K. were led by Argos, which captured the highest share in the category (12 percent). Amazon Sites followed with 10 percent of all cyber-shopping visits during the holiday period, and Tesco Stores captured 6 percent. Play.com emerged as a holiday-season leader by virtue of the significant market-share increase it earned (7 percent) during Week 7 of the holiday shopping season versus its pre-holiday market share average of 4 percent, increasing 112 percent overall versus the pre-holiday period.
TABLE 3
|
Top U.K. Retail Sites by Share of Cyber Shopping Visits from U.K. Users* Holiday Period 2006: 30 October- 31 December Total U.K. – Home and Work Locations, Visitors Age 15+** Source: comScore World Metrix |
||
|
|
U.K. Avg. Share ofCyber Shopping Visits |
U.K. Cyber Shopping Index during holiday period versus pre-holiday base of 100 |
|
|
30 October - 31 December |
|
|
Argos |
12% |
205 |
|
Amazon Sites |
10% |
167 |
|
Tesco Stores |
6% |
138 |
|
Littlewoods Shop Direct Group |
6% |
119 |
|
Apple Computer, Inc. |
5% |
114 |
|
Play.com Sites |
5% |
212 |
|
NEXT Group |
4% |
123 |
|
Ticketmaster |
3% |
117 |
|
The Carphone Warehouse Group |
2% |
117 |
|
Groupe PPR |
2% |
162 |
*Percentage of total shopping visit to secure sections
of retail sites
** Excludes traffic from public computers such as
Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs
***Not including eBay
Germany Holiday Review
The German cyber-shopping category was led by Amazon Sites, which accounted for 16 percent of total German cyber shopping visits, followed by Otto Gruppe, which accounted for 10 percent, and O2Online.de, which captured 6 percent. Notably, Neckermann.de more than doubled its pre-holiday shopping share of 3 percent by garnering 8 percent of all cyber shopping visits during Week 6 and increasing 110 percent overall versus the pre-holiday period.
TABLE 4
|
Top German Retail Sites by Share of Cyber Shopping Visits from German Users* Holiday Period 2006: 30 October- 31 December Total Germany – Home and Work Locations, Visitors Age 15+** Source: comScore World Metrix |
||
|
|
German Avg. Share of Cyber Shopping Visits |
German Cyber Shopping Index during holiday period versus pre-holiday base of 100 |
|
|
30 October - 31 December |
|
|
Amazon Sites |
16% |
147 |
|
Otto Gruppe |
10% |
131 |
|
O2ONLINE.DE |
6% |
126 |
|
QUELLE.DE |
6% |
128 |
|
Apple Computer, Inc. |
5% |
100 |
|
NECKERMANN.DE |
5% |
210 |
|
T-MOBILE.DE |
3% |
141 |
|
Medion Shop |
2% |
155 |
|
Tchibo |
2% |
153 |
|
WELTBILD.DE |
2% |
188 |
*Percentage of total shopping visits to secure sections of retail sites
** Excludes traffic from public computers such as
Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs
***Not including eBay
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