RESTON, VA, March 17, 2005 - comScore Media Metrix today released its monthly analysis of consumer activity at top online properties and categories.  In February, the Internet proved to be an important resource for those reaching out to others on Valentine's Day and reaching for their checkbooks in preparation for Tax Day.  Millions of Americans also turned to the Web for activities related to the Super Bowl and other sporting events.

"Valentine's Day and the Super Bowl are two more entries on a growing list of events that channel people's passions and interests onto the Internet," said Peter Daboll, president and CEO of comScore Media Metrix.  "The acceptability of sending sentimental greetings online and the popularity of the Web leading up to and even during TV sports broadcasts are yet further reminders that the line between the online and offline worlds is increasingly blurred."

Sites Benefit from Valentine's Day Traffic

Whether to send e-cards, buy jewelry or send flowers, Americans turned to the Web for Valentine's Day in greater numbers than ever before.  In fact, categories related to Valentine's Day made up 4 of the top 10 gaining categories.  The Flowers, Gifts & Greetings category led the way, posting an increase of 33 percent over January 2005 (see table 2) and 23 percent over last February.  Two flowers and gift sites, 1-800-Flowers and Proflowers, secured the first two spots on the top gaining properties ranking (see table 1), posting growth of 301 and 241 percent, respectively, compared to January.  comScore e-commerce tracking indicated that spending levels at flowers and gift sites were similarly strong; spending in the Flowers, Gifts & Greetings category topped $260 million in February - an increase of 55 percent compared to February 2004.

The Web also proved to be a useful resource for those with more ambitious gifts in mind.  In February, traffic to the Jewelry, Luxury Goods & Accessories category jumped 33 percent compared to the month prior and 39 percent compared to last year.  Fossil.com, BlueNile.com, Tiffany.com and Zales.com all posted double- or triple-digit increases.  Online spending on Jewelry & Watches, one of the fastest growing product categories in e-commerce in 2004, grew 80 percent to approach $200 million in sales.

Traditional Valentine's Day favorites such as greetings and fragrances continue to grow in online popularity.  Led by AmericanGreetings and Yahoo! Greetings, which jumped 35 and 39 percent, respectively, the E-Cards category posted an 11-percent increase between January and February.  More than 13 million consumers visited sites in the Fragrances & Cosmetics category, representing an increase of just over 10 percent compared to January.

Watching Sporting Events on TV Now Just One Part of the Experience

Fans of the Super Bowl and Daytona 500 were behind the traffic increases at a number of the top gaining properties and categories.  Controversial Super Bowl advertiser GoDaddy.com landed the third spot on the top gaining properties ranking, with a traffic increase of 180 percent in February.  Nearly five million spectators raced to NASCAR.com, doubling the site's audience versus January and making it the fourth-largest gainer in February.  Historically, major sporting events tend to produce an increase in visitation to gambling sites, and February was no exception - traffic to the Online Gambling category grew by 12 percent between January and February.

New Oprah Club Has Americans Joining Together to Get in Shape

Oprah Winfrey has added yet another success story to her portfolio as a cultural phenomenon with "Oprah's Boot Camp."  This new diet and exercise club provides interactive access to Oprah's training and nutrition experts, while allowing members to be part of a group that shares common goals.  This program drove Oxygen Media sites into the top 10 gaining properties in February with an increase of 38 percent, yielding a total of 3.7 million visitors.

February Busiest Month for Tax Sites

The "Free File" partnership between the IRS and tax software manufacturers helped the tax category again earn top gaining honors in February, with a traffic increase of 43 percent versus January and 8 percent over February 2004.  Although the delivery of W-2 forms generally drives significant traffic gains in January, February tends to be a busier month for preparations.  Compared to January, the top ten sites in the Taxes category all showed double-digit traffic growth, and HRBlock.com, TaxAct.com and IRS.gov all grew by 50 percent or more.

Top 50 Properties

The rush of activity at tax sites was also visible in February's top properties ranking, in which IRS.gov posted the largest and Intuit (maker of TurboTax) the third-largest overall gains (see table 3).  IRS.gov shot up 28 spots to finish at the number 29 position, with over 17 million visitors.  The 14.1 million visitors to Intuit helped the property climb 20 spots to finish as February's 42^nd ranked property.

Among sites in both the January and February Top 50 Properties, AmericanGreetings Property had the largest jump, as 16.6 million love-struck Americans turned to the site to send or receive Valentine's Day cards, moving the property up 20 spots to number 30.  Various promotional campaigns from BankOne helped JPMorgan Chase Property rise 10 places from January to the number 28 spot in February.  Finally, consumers searching for spring break travel deals at CheapTickets.com drove a traffic increase of over 1.2 million visitors at Trip Network Inc. during February 2005, corresponding to a 4-spot gain to number 27.

Top 50 Ad Focus Ranking

Advertising.com and Yahoo! claimed the top 2 spots in the Ad Focus ranking, as they have each month since May 2004 (see table 4).  Additionally, the rest of the top 10 Ad Focus entities stayed the same in February as in January.

Expedia Travel and CheapTickets.com each benefited from spring break travel and gained 2 spots to move to February's number 24 and 43, respectively.  Finally, Business.com Network and AOL Business Network finished at number 19 and 23, respectively, in February, their first month of inclusion in the Ad Focus ranking.

TABLE 1

*Ranking based on the top 250 properties in February

TABLE 2

TABLE 3