Percentage of Respondents Shopping
at a Site and Average Amount Spent |
Site |
Percent Shopping
at Site |
Average Amount
Spent at Site |
Amazon.com |
42.1 |
$128 |
eToys |
20.3 |
$127 |
ToysRUs |
19.4 |
$134 |
Barnes&Noble.com |
16.9 |
$63 |
Buy.com |
16.1 |
$111 |
CDnow |
14.3 |
$69 |
KBToys |
14.3 |
$89 |
eBay |
12.5 |
$152 |
J.C. Penney |
9.8 |
$151 |
Drugstore.com |
7.2 |
$38 |
PlanetRX.com |
5.4 |
$33 |
Land’s End |
5.2 |
$133 |
Columbia House |
4.9 |
$71 |
Petsmart |
4.9 |
$38 |
Reel.com |
4.9 |
$72 |
Disney |
4.6 |
$172 |
Egghead.com |
4.3 |
$217 |
Iqvc |
4.1 |
$151 |
1800flowers.com |
3.9 |
$173 |
Best Buy |
3.7 |
$233 |
Borders |
3.3 |
$69 |
LL Bean |
3.3 |
$138 |
Walmart |
2.9 |
$167 |
Source: Ernst & Young |
A post-holiday online retailing survey by Ernst & Young found that 26 percent of those polled made an online purchase during the holidays, and that the number of women who shopped online outpaced men during the holidays.
The survey, which polled 1,283 Internet users, also found that while the sites most-visited by Internet shoppers are consistent with previous findings, a different set of winners is revealed when reviewing the average dollar amount spent at these sites. For example, Amazon.com was the No. 1 shopping destination for 42 percent of online shoppers during the 1999 holiday season, followed by eToys.com (20 percent), Toys R Us (19 percent), Barnesandnoble.com (17 percent), and Buy.com (16 percent). The top sites by average dollar amount spent are Best Buy ($233), Egghead.com ($217), 1800flowers.com ($173), Disney ($172), and Walmart ($167).
“Whenever we ask online shoppers where they make their purchases, Amazon.com comes up again and again as number one,” said Stephanie Shern, Ernst & Young’s Global Director of Retail & Consumer Products. “This new data, however, reveals that online shoppers are spending their money across a variety of online retailers and categories. The purchases made online are broad-based and many Internet retailers are enjoying a successful season.”
Ernst & Young’s survey found that, on average, online shoppers spent $1,225 on Internet purchases during the last 12 months, with 60 percent spending at least $500. Most (87 percent) said the total dollar amount they spent increased over the previous 12 months in online purchases.
“Given this new data, we are updating our estimate for online holiday sales in 1999 to $10-$13 billion,” said Shern. “Considering the dramatic increase in the number of Internet sites and merchandise available, plus the broad-based success among these retailers, our estimate of total revenue for calendar year 1999 remains at $25-$30 billion.”
According to Web measurement firm Media Metrix, the number of visitors to e-commerce sites was highest the second week of December (week ending 12/12/99). E-commerce traffic increased 27 percent during Christmas week (week ending 12/26/99) compared to the same week last year (week ending 12/27/98). Top unique visitor growth categories included greeting cards and gaming sites, which increased significantly during Christmas week.
Top 25 E-Commerce Sites for 1999 Holiday Season |
Rank |
Site |
Avg. Unique
Visitors for Season*
(000) |
1. |
Amazon.com |
5,693 |
2. |
ebay.com |
4,073 |
3. |
Etoys.com |
1,662 |
4. |
Barnesandnoble.com |
1,522 |
5. |
Toysrus.com |
1,486 |
6. |
Buy.com |
1,427 |
7. |
CDnow.com |
1,416 |
8. |
Egreetings.com |
1,116 |
9. |
Expedia |
1,019 |
10. |
Travelocity.com |
934 |
11. |
Egghead.com Sites |
900 |
12. |
Kbkids.com |
799 |
13. |
bmgmusicservice.com |
782 |
14. |
Bonzi.com |
674 |
15. |
Americangreetings.com |
638 |
16. |
Beyond.com |
623 |
17. |
Shopnow.com sites |
619 |
18. |
Ticketmaster |
597 |
19. |
Jcpenney.com |
594 |
20. |
Dell.com |
582 |
21. |
overstock.com |
549 |
22. |
Compaq.com |
522 |
23. |
Shopping.com |
515 |
24. |
Columbiahouse.com |
513 |
25. |
Priceline.com |
500 |
* Average Daily Unique Visitors is the seven-day average number of different individuals that accessed a Web site.
Holiday season measured is from 11/22/99-12/26/99
Source: Media Metrix |