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Dec 18, 2007

Online Holiday Spending Growth Accelerates to 22 Percent During Week Ending December 16

RESTON, Va., Dec 18, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released an update of holiday season e-commerce spending for the first 46 days of the November - December 2007 holiday season (November 1 - December 16). More than $23 billion has been spent online during the season-to-date, marking a 19-percent gain versus the corresponding days last year. The most recent week, which saw online spending jump 22 percent, will likely be the heaviest online spending week of the season with $4.7 billion in sales.


    2007 Holiday Season To Date vs. Corresponding Days* in 2006
    Non-Travel (Retail) Spending
    Excludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases
    Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations
    Source: comScore, Inc.
                                                         Billions ($)
                                                                         Pct
    Holiday Season to Date                      2006        2007       Change
    November 1 - December 16                   $19.79      $23.48         19%
    Week Ending December 16                     $3.85       $4.70         22%
    Thanksgiving Day (November 22)              $0.21       $0.27         29%
    "Black Friday" (November 23)                $0.43       $0.53         22%
    "Cyber Monday" (November 26)                $0.61       $0.73         21%
    "Green Monday" (December 10)                $0.66       $0.88         33%
        * Corresponding Shopping Days, Not Calendar Days


"Despite a choppy spending pattern, with the beginning and end of the week showing strong growth while the mid-week days grew more slowly, the most recent week represented a strong period for online retailing, with spending up 22 percent versus year ago," said comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni. "The current -- and final -- week of online shopping before Christmas will be especially critical to the overall success of the holiday shopping season. We'll know whether consumers were simply delaying their purchases in the hopes of capturing late-season deals, or if the economic pressures weighing on people's wallets were actually too strong to overcome, causing sales to fall below analysts' forecasts."

Fastest Growing Product Categories

Video games, consoles & accessories continues to be the fastest growing online retail category, jumping 129 percent versus the corresponding days last year, while furniture, appliances & equipment (up 63 percent), event tickets (up 29 percent) and consumer electronics (up 24 percent) have also demonstrated above average growth. After a very slow start to the season, online apparel sales have picked up considerably, with growth now registering 17-percent for the season.


    Fastest Growing Retail E-Commerce Categories by Dollar Sales
    Non-Travel (Retail) Spending
    Excludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases
    Nov. 1 - Dec. 16, 2007 vs. Corresponding Days in 2006
    Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations
    Source: comScore, Inc.
                                                         Percent Change in
    Retail Category                                      Category Spending ($)
    Video Games, Consoles & Accessories                         129%
    Furniture, Appliances & Equipment                            63%
    Event Tickets                                                29%
    Consumer Electronics                                         24%
    Apparel & Accessories                                        17%


    Weekly Online Holiday Retail Sales

    (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071218/AQTU141)

Please contact press@comscore.com to receive the data behind the above for use in graphical representation.


    comScore 2007 Retail E-Commerce Forecast

    Online Non-Travel (Retail) Holiday Consumer Spending
    Excludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases
    Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations
    Source: comScore, Inc.
                                                   Billions ($)
                                                                   Pct
                                          2006        2007        Change
    January - October                    $77.5       $93.6         21%
    Holiday Season (Nov - Dec)           $24.6       $29.5*        20%*
        * comScore forecast


About comScore

comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world. This capability is based on a massive, global cross-section of more than 2 million consumers who have given comScore permission to confidentially capture their browsing and transaction behavior, including online and offline purchasing. comScore panelists also participate in survey research that captures and integrates their attitudes and intentions. Through its proprietary technology, comScore measures what matters across a broad spectrum of behavior and attitudes. comScore analysts apply this deep knowledge of customers and competitors to help clients design powerful marketing strategies and tactics that deliver superior ROI. comScore services are used by more than 800 clients, including global leaders such as AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, BBC, Carat, Cyworld, Deutsche Bank, France Telecom, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Financial Times, ESPN, Fox Sports, NestlA(C), Starcom, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, Verizon, ViaMichelin, Merck and Expedia. For more information, please visit http://www.comscore.com.

SOURCE comScore, Inc.

http://www.comscore.com

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