January 28, 2009
There has been a big increase in the number of Americans playing online games.
In the past year, the audience at online game sites jumped 27 percent to 86 million people, according to comScore. The growth is much faster than the 4 percent growth in overall Internet users, which comScore measured from December 2007 to December 2008.
More so, the time these gamers spent playing online climbed 42 percent.
Yahoo Games was the most visited site followed by EA Online and Disney Games. One hot site, Spil Games, saw traffic surge 268 percent.
Here are the top sites:
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Posted by Mark Boslet
January 16, 2009
Online search sites saw 3 percent growth in December, according to comScore, a more modest increase than the 9.3 percent calculated by Compete.
In either case, however, search engine use grew despite the tight economy and the weak retail environment reported for the period.
Market shares held stable
ComScore said Americans conducted 12.7 billion searches during the month, with Google attracting 63.5 percent of them. The company’s market share was unchanged from November.
Yahoo attracted 20.5 percent of searches, up slightly from 20.4 percent in November and Microsoft’s market share was unchanged at 8.3 percent.
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Posted by Mark Boslet
January 5, 2009
Americans watched 34 percent more videos in November than a year ago, comScore said Monday.
Top video sites
But that is down from 45 percent growth in October.
Internet users in the U.S. viewed 12.7 billion videos online during the month, with Google – the owner of You Tube – capturing 40 percent of total. You Tube is responsible for more than 98 percent of videos viewed on Google sites.
According to comScore, 146 million Americans – or 77 percent of the entire U.S. Internet audience – watched an average of 87 videos per person in the month. The average person looked at 273 minutes of content.
The top sites following Google were Fox Interactive Media, owners of MySpace, Viacom Digital, Yahoo, Microsoft and Hulu.
Leave a Comment » | news, web 2.0 | Tagged: ComScore, Fox Interactive Media, Google, Growth, hulu, Microsoft, MySpace, Online Video, Viacom Digital, yahoo, you Tube | Permalink
Posted by Mark Boslet
December 21, 2008
Christmas-season e-commerce is down just 1 percent through Dec. 19 compared with last year, raising hopes for a better holiday season online than the nation’s dire economic climate might suggest.
Online holiday sales
ComScore said Sunday that retail spending for the first 49 days of holiday shopping came to $24.03 billion online.
With five fewer shopping days this year than last year, consumers are spending later into the season. Last week, for instance, saw several days with substantial buying, including Monday, Dec. 15, which proved to be the second biggest day of the season after Dec. 8. Consumers spent $859 million on Monday, ComScore said.
As a result of the more compressed shopping period, the average online spending per day is 5 percent higher this year, or $643 million.
The top performing retails categories online including sports and fitness, with sales up 31 percent; books and magazines, up 18 percent; video games and consoles, up 17 percent and apparel and accessories, up 15 percent.
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Posted by Mark Boslet
December 19, 2008
November saw a decline in online search activity, largely because it has one fewer day than October, but Google gained share over its rivals.
Search share for November
Americans conducted 12.3 billion searches in the month, down 3 percent, according to comScore.
Google captured 63.5 percent of searches in the month, up 0.4 percentage points, the research firm said. Yahoo’s share was mostly unchanged at 20.4 percent, down 0.1 percentage points.
Microsoft slipped slightly to 8.3 percent and Ask Networks declined modestly to 4 percent.
In November, YouTube was responsible for about 25 percent of Google’s search volume.
Leave a Comment » | news, web 2.0 | Tagged: Ask Networks, ComScore, Google, Microsoft, November, Online Search, Search Market, yahoo, youtube | Permalink
Posted by Mark Boslet
December 12, 2008
A recent study found that online display advertising encourages consumers to search for products and services, demonstrating value in often maligned banner and other brand ads.
The study by Specific Media discovered that a consumer exposed to a display ad was more likely to search for an advertiser’s branded product, such as a car or financial service.
The increased likelihood to search ranged from 22 percent to as much as 274 percent. The average was 155 percent.
The study looked at 12 months of advertising data from comScore.
Search activity boosts from display advertising
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Posted by Mark Boslet
December 10, 2008
In-store sales have been slumping, but holiday buying online continues at a brisk pace despite the possibility of an extended global recession.
Merchants increase e-mail marketing
During the first week of Christmas-season shopping, online retail sales are up 7 percent compared with last year, coming to $4.45 billion for Dec. 1 -7, says comScore.
Since the start of November, online purchases mirror last year’s $15.6 billion.
Merchants so far this year have increased online marketing efforts, perhaps explaining this steady pace. ComScore says the use of e-mail circulars has risen noticeable, as has the distribution of online coupons.
Fewer buyers are using search engines to find the products they want.
Leave a Comment » | economy, news, web 2.0 | Tagged: ComScore, E-Commerce, economy, Holiday Sales, Online Sales, Retail Sales | Permalink
Posted by Mark Boslet
December 9, 2008
Video on the Web is taking off with U.S. Internet users viewing 13.5 billion clips in October, 45 percent growth from last year.
The top destination for videos is Google’s YouTube, which commanded nearly 40 percent market share in the month, said comScore. Visitors watched nearly 5.4 billion videos on post-your-own-content site.
YouTube accounts for more than 98 percent of all videos viewed on Google’s sprawling list of online sites.
The second most popular destination is Fox Interactive Media, owner of MySpace, followed by Yahoo! and Viacom Digital. Hulu, a joint venture of NBC and Fox featuring television programming, was sixth.
Fox Interactive Media had 3.8 percent market share, said market monitor comScore.
During the month, more than 147 million Internet users watched an average of 92 videos, or an average of 274 minutes. Google’s sites attracted 100 million of them. Fox had 61 million viewers.
More than 80 percent of 18 to 34 years old watched video online – the top age segment.
Top Sites For Viewing Online Video
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Posted by Mark Boslet
December 4, 2008
This year’s relatively strong Cyber Monday sales nonetheless saw the frugality of a down economy: average online spending per shopper was down as bargaining hunting was king.
Online retail sales on Cyber Monday, the first workday following the Thanksgiving holiday, increased 15 percent compared with last year.
Forty-four percet of buying came from abroad
Even more encouraging, online buyers were up 22 percent – meaning that more people turned to their computers at work and home to shop.
But they were frugal. The average amount spent per buyer dropped 5 percent and their average number of transactions fell 9 percent as people sought discounts and special prices, says comScore.
Cyber Monday sales are usually a good indicator of the strength of holiday season sales – and so far suggest an acceptable year-end period.
Interestingly, consumers from abroad played a big part in this year’s spending. Forty-four percent of online buying at U.S. site cam from overseas, comScore said.
The most visited sites on Cyber Monday were (in order): eBay (13 million visitors); Amazon (9.2 million visitors); Wal-Mart (6.8 million); Target (4.8 million); and Apple (3.7 million).
1 Comment | computers, economy, news, web 2.0 | Tagged: Amazon, Apple, ComScore, Cyber Monday, Discounts, E-Commerce, eBay, economy, Frugality, Holiday Sales, Online Sales, target, Wal-Mart | Permalink
Posted by Mark Boslet
November 30, 2008
Online holiday spending climbed 1 percent for the crucial Black Friday shopping day and 2 percent when combined with Thanksgiving itself, comScore reported Sunday.
Next up: Cyber Mnday. Here is an online promotion at Sears
The finding offers some hope to merchants who saw a 4 percent decline in consumer e-commerce for the first 28 days of November and feared a soft spending environment because of the downturn.
Black Friday saw $534 million in one-day spending, an increase from $531 million last year. Online shopping on Thanksgiving was up 6 percent compared with a year ago.
“Early reports suggest that Black Friday sales in retail stores were slightly better than anticipated in this depressed retail climate, and that performance apparently extended to the online channel,” said comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni.
The e-commerce monitoring firm said it was turning its sights to “Cyber Monday,” the first working day following the Thanksgiving holiday. Cyber Monday has often been an accurate bellwether for the overall holiday season, the firm said.
Last year, Cyber Monday online sales were up 21 percent.
Comscore predicts online retail sales will be flat this year for the holiday months of November and December after climbing 9 percent for the January to October period.
Leave a Comment » | economy, news, web 2.0 | Tagged: Black Friday, ComScore, Cyber Monday, E-Commerce, Online Sales, Retail Sales, Thanskgiving | Permalink
Posted by Mark Boslet
