Nielsen//NetRatings in the News

January 2007

NYTimes.com (Laura M. Holson), January 1: Disney Plans to Introduce a Sleek Makeover of Disney.com Site

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Associated Press (Anne D'Innocenzio), January 3: Amazon Launches New Handbag and Shoe Site Called Endless.Com

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Guardian (Matt Keating), January 9: Media: Dispatches: New Media: Hi-Tech Revolution Hits Eastern Europe

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The assumption that western Europeans are more technologically savvy than their neighbors to the east was demolished last week with a survey on internet attitudes in central and eastern Europe. People who log on in Hungary are 10 times more likely than those in Britain to delete web-monitoring files known as "cookies".

The survey by Nielsen//NetRatings also shows the web is being accessed with the latest hardware in these countries. In Bulgaria, 44% of internet users log on through a laptop. In Lithuania 42% do likewise via a mobile phone and 12% through a PDA.

"Although the use of internet cafes is still important, these nations are more willing to adopt mobile technology since fixed-line connections are not as well established as they are in Britain," says Alex Burmaster, a European internet analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings.

The internet is also having an effect on how eastern and central Europeans are consuming media. More than three quarters of internet users in Ukraine, Hungary, Poland and Latvia read online newspapers, says the survey. But the impact on traditional print sales has not been universally negative.

Circulation figures over the past five years rose by 11% in Latvia and 44% in Poland while they fell by 10% in Hungary and 11% in Slovakia, a similar fall to that in the UK, according to the World Association of Newspapers. But 30% of people surveyed by Nielsen say they buy fewer printed newspapers because of the availability of online versions.

"This survey reveals that central and eastern Europe is an exciting market for e-commerce," says Burmaster. "The internet is expanding rapidly in this region. There is still growth in the rest of Europe but the numbers are starting to plateau."

Figures from Internet World Stats show less than one third of Poland's population, or 11 million people, use the internet. But over the past five years the number has risen almost twice as fast as in Britain - where 38 million people, or two thirds of the population, log on. In Lithuania the growth has been three times as great.

"Too many people in western Europe think that central and eastern Europeans are technologically backward," says Burmaster. "This survey dispels that myth and shows the opposite is the case."

FT.com (Maija Palmer), January 10: My Space Hits France

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Associated Press January 10: Shoppers Returned In Droves to the Web on Day after Christmas

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DMNNews.com (Dianna Dilworth), January 16: Ebay, Amazon Fulfilled the Most Holiday Shopping Lists

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EBay, Amazon and Wal-Mart.com were the top shopping destinations this season, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.

The biggest online shopping day of the holiday season was Dec. 12 with 30.4 million unique visitors to the eShopping Holiday Index. On that day, eBay led the top shopping destinations with a unique audience of 12.4 million, followed by Amazon with 6.1 million unique visitors, and Wal-mart.com with 4.0 million.

�A wide selection of products is one factor that each of the top shopping destinations share, each offers a very broad selection of products in almost every product category,� said Heather Dougherty, senior retail analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings, New York �Amazon and Wal-Mart also offer very low and competitive pricing on many products, such as flat screen TVs and game consoles. Free shipping was a promotion used by all three during the holidays.�

Online shopping has become a part of the holidays, with 24 percent more unique visitors to the Index on Thanksgiving and 29 percent more on Christmas Day than last year. Many people are taking advantage of holiday time off to go online and shop while bricks-and-mortar stores are closed.

The week ending Dec. 3 was the peak week this holiday season, with visits to the Index increasing 43 percent over the last week in October. Lego, Macy's and Office Depot led the year-over-year fastest growing online shopping destinations that week, with Web traffic increasing 120 percent, 70 percent and 64 percent, respectively.

The day after Christmas, traffic to the retail Web sites included in the eShopping Holiday Index grew 35 percent year over year, from 20.9 million in 2005 to 28.1 million in 2006. Shoppers were going online to check out after-Christmas sales, redeem gift cards and spend holiday cash, or to sell or exchange unwanted presents.

Other popular sites this season included BestBuy.com, Overstock.com, Dell.com and Sears.com.

Visits to shopping comparison Web sites also peaked during the week after Thanksgiving, increasing 75 percent from the start of the season to a total of 64.0 million shopping trips.

During the week ending Dec. 24, there was a 24 percent week-over-week decline in the use of these online comparison tools, from 60.1 million visits to 46.1 million. But the week ending Dec. 31 saw another uptick, growing six percent to 48.7 million shopping trips, another indicator of post-Christmas retail activity.

�Traffic to many of the shopping sites declines the week before Christmas as shoppers shift their spending on last minute purchases to physical stores,� Ms. Dougherty said. �However, there is still significant traffic to shopping sites as retailers are able to offer free or affordable shipping options later and later into the season every year.�

Hollywood Reporter (Rebecca Leffler), January 18: France24.com Draws 1.2 Mil Visitors First Month

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WashingtonPost.com (Frank Ahrens), January 18: Bloggin', Bloggin', Bloggin, Keep Those Papers Bloggin'

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MarketWatch.com (Anna Campoy), January 23: Nielsen//NetRatings: Google Searches Rise 22.6% in December

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WSJ.com (Emily Steel), January 29: In Web Polls of Super Bowl Ads, Now a Word from the Sponsor's Sponsor

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