Shopping.com Reports Cyber Monday Traffic to Merchants Jumped Forty Percent Year-over-Year as Online Holiday Shopping Kicks Off

Business Wire, Nov 28, 2006

Cyber Monday 2006 Becomes Busiest Day on Shopping.com to Date

BRISBANE, Calif. -- Shopping.com, the leading online comparison shopping site, logged record-breaking activity on "Cyber Monday," the Monday after Thanksgiving. Shopping.com's traffic to its merchant partners on Cyber Monday increased 40 percent over last year's Cyber Monday, November 28, 2005.

Shopping.com's most "clicked on" product on Cyber Monday was Apple's black 4GB iPod nano. Other popular products yesterday included the TMX Tickle Me Elmo doll and the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 video game consoles. Shopping.com also recently reported record-breaking numbers from Black Friday, the first Friday after Thanksgiving.

"Cyber Monday was our strongest day in 2006 to date and we're excited to see how the holiday shopping season progresses," said Josh Silverman, general manager of Shopping.com. "There's more competition among online merchants than ever which is great for shoppers as many of them are rolling out more incentives and discounts this year. In fact, according to our research, 20 of the top 50 merchants ranked by Internet Retailer are offering shoppers free shipping this holiday."

Mondays are the Busiest Shopping Day of the Week

On Shopping.com, Mondays tend to be the busiest online shopping days of the week during the holiday buying season, with activity peaking on the Mondays of the second and third weeks after Thanksgiving. In 2005, prior to Thanksgiving, Mondays were also the biggest online shopping day of the week, and that pattern continued both on Cyber Monday and the two following Mondays. This pattern has remained consistent during November 2006.

Lunchtime Busiest Time of Day for Shopping Online

Cyber Monday traffic peaked on Shopping.com between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Pacific. This pattern was consistent for the three previous Mondays in November, while on Mondays in November 2005, the majority of shoppers came to Shopping.com from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Pacific.

"Comparison shopping on Shopping.com really pays off -- prices for the same product from different retailers on our site can vary by 20 percent. However, only around 20 percent of our shoppers click on the lowest-priced items, indicating each shopper's priority isn't always to find the lowest price," Silverman adds. "Sometimes they want to go with a trusted or familiar merchant. Our 'Smart Buy' icon helps simplify shopping by pointing out the lowest priced product from a 'Trusted Store.'"

2006 Hot Holiday Products

Shopping.com offers 60 million products from more than 8,000 merchants, including 97 of the top 100 e-tailers and lets shoppers sort products by the criteria that matter most to them -- brand, size, price, style, and even product features. Popular products within Shopping.com's major product categories help indicate key retail buying trends. Based on site activity at Shopping.com on Cyber Monday, the most popular products for the 2006 holiday season include:

Electronics

* Apple iPod Nano and iPod Video

* Sony Handycam DCR-DVD405 Camcorder

* Garmin StreetPilot i3 GPS Receiver

* Samsung 42 inch HDTV Plasma TV

Toys

* TMX Tickle Me Elmo

* Hasbro Easy-Bake Oven

* Razor Pocket Mod Electric Scooter

* LeapFrog Talking Odyssey III Interactive Globe

For the Home

* Cuisinart 12-Cup Coffee Maker

* Hoover Upright Wet/Dry SpinScrub Vacuum

* Zojirushi Home Bakery Bread Machine

* Pop Art Holiday Themed Toaster

Clothing/Accessories

* Citizen Calibre Wrist Watch for Men

* Nike Air Max 360 Running Shoes for Women

* DC Chalet Apres Ski Boot for Women

* Oakley Monster Dog Sunglasses

Sports and Outdoors

* North Face Apex Bionic Men's Jacket

* Burton Emerald Snowboard Boot for Women

* Salomon Performa 7.5 Alpine Men's Ski Boot

* Burton Women's Feel Good Snowboard

About Shopping.com

Shopping.com, an eBay company, pioneered online comparison shopping and today is one of the fastest growing shopping destinations on the Internet with items from thousands of trusted stores from across the Web. With a singular focus on shopping, Shopping.com offers shoppers easy-to-use search tools, engaging content, time-saving navigation, along with millions of product and merchant reviews from the Epinions community, all in one place. The Shopping.com Network powers the shopping experience for hundreds of websites. For more information, please visit www.shopping.com.