March 04 2007

Social networks can drive traffic

TopShop.co.uk and ASOS.com last week received more than twice as much traffic from MySpace than from MSN and Yahoo! Search combined, according to competitive intelligence service Hitwise. With nearly twice as much upstream traffic from social networking sites than the e-retail industry average Top Shop is showing how retailers can engage with customers in the social space.

The number 2 source of UK visits to TopShop.co.uk was MySpace, accounting for 5% of site visits (a five-fold year-on-year increase). MSN UK Search and Yahoo! UK Search each accounted for just over 1% of visits. MySpace was the number 5 source of visits to ASOS.com (representing a two-fold year-on-year increase).

"When I first noticed this, I was told it was likely a result of the recent London Fashion Week. But the growth has been steady over the past 52 weeks," said Heather Hopkins, Director of Research at Hitwise. "It is also not solely a result of demographics. Miss Selfridge and New Look attract a similar demographic profile of young women, but do not enjoy the same volume of traffic from MySpace. The success seems a result of participation in the community and targeted offers. Top Shop has a profile on MySpace with a blog that includes special offers and discounts. ASOS and Top Shop are mentioned on several profile pages.

"This offers a great example of creative brands that are engaging with their audience on the terms - and turf - of their audience."

In comparison, shopping sites overall received 2.72% of traffic from net communities and chat sites in January, according to Hitwise. 36% of visitors came from search engines and just under 5% from email services (as the computers and internet table below shows).