Hottest holiday e-tailers offered value - e-Watch - Nielsen/NetRatings - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

DSN Retailing Today, Jan 21, 2002

new york--The Nielsen/NetRatings Holiday eCommerce Index revealed the fastest-growing e-tailers for the 2001 holiday season were led by value-oriented sites. Columbia House topped the list, with more than 25 million shopping trips in November and December, surging 219% over 2000. Finger Hut.com claimed the No. 2 spot, jumping 144% to 8 million visits, while OverStock.com grew 107% to nearly 13 million. Among the top 10 e-tailers were dealers in consumer electronics and computer manufacturers, including Office Depot.com, Apple.com; BestBuy.com. HP.com, Staples.com and CircuitCity.com.

Computer hardware was the first category to peak, jumping 19% during the week ended Nov.11. Shoppers wanting to beat shipping deadlines during the week ended Dec. 9 were drawn to toys and games, value-oriented sites, apparel and the virtual department stores. Last-minute holiday shoppers flocked to specialty gifts during the week ended Dec. 23. After-Christmas online shopping tapered off more slowly this season--declining about 16% from the week ended Dec. 23 to the week ended Dec. 30 versus a 27% decline during the same period a year ago--due to post-holiday sales.