December 06 2006

High Street names increase share of visitors online

High street names accounted for 6 of the top 10 most visited sites in November, according to the latest statistics from competitive intelligence service Hitwise.

Visits to the Hitwise UK Retail 100 Index were up 23% in November, when compared with October's figures, "boding well for a strong Christmas season for online retailers," said Hitwise. (The Hitwise UK Retail 100 Index is made up of 100 of the top retail websites, based on share of UK internet visits.) Year-on-year, visits to the category were up 2%.

"High street retailers are making a comeback, claiming 6 of the top 10 spots among retail websites," for the week to 2 December, compared with five in the same week in 2005. Argos, Tesco.com, Marks & Spencer, Woolworths, HMV.co.uk and Currys were among the top 10 retail websites based on share of UK internet visits.

Threshers, however, must win an award for increasing the number of searches to its site. The company's 40% discount voucher, first publicised two weeks ago by a blog associated with Stormhoek wine, increased Threshers' share of UK internet searches "more than 2000 times," said Hitwise. Its ranking among grocery and alcohol websites increased to 37th position, from number 103 the week before. 45% of visits to threshers.co.uk came from the forum at moneysavingexpert.com and goes to show just how much of an impact online forums can have on retailing.

Emma Herrod