19 December 2007

European online shopping 'hits high point' of festive season

The first week of December recorded the highest rate of cyber shopping activity so far this season in the UK, France and Germany, new research suggests.

According to figures produced by comScore, the most impressive increase in online shopping occurred in France, which saw a jump of 45 per cent during the week compared to the eight-week pre-festive season base period.

Not far behind, cyber retail activity in the UK was up 38 per cent over the base level, which is determined according to figures gathered between September 3rd and October 28th.

Meanwhile, Germany, which recorded a slow start to the Christmas period last month, saw an eight per cent increase in internet purchasing.

Commenting on the results, Bob Ivins, comScore executive vice president of European markets, stated: "The first week of December has traditionally been a busy week for European Christmas shopping and this year is no exception."

After a "relatively steady" November in Germany "we should now see online shopping activity in [the country] increase further in the last two weeks leading up to Christmas", he added.

The research also identifies the fastest growing online retailers over November, with Game.co.uk securing the top spot in the UK, up 52 per cent in unique visitors on the base period.

Following this, Toys R Us sites and the John Lewis Partnership came second and third, securing increases of 47 per cent and 39 per cent respectively.

Proving popular on the continent, Arcandor secured a rise of 42 per cent in France and 19 per cent in Germany, coming top in both countries.

Other research recently published by comScore revealed that, in total, online spending during the first 44 days of November and December surpassed $22 billion.

Home | Careers | RSS | Contact Us | Newsletter

International sites: