UK IMRG-Hitwise Hot Shops List, August 2009

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Lindsay O’Gorman

Marketing Executive, Hitwise

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IMRG – Hitwise Hot Shops List, Aug 2009

Hitwise today (26 August) publishes the fourteenth quarterly edition of the IMRG-HITWISE HOT SHOPS LIST, which ranks by popularity, as indicated by visits, the top 50 UK e-retailers* selling goods and services within the IMRG Index Classification**.

It’s all steady at the top of the latest Hot Shops List, with the leading three brands retaining their dominance of the UK online shopping scene. Amazon.co.uk (1), Argos (2), Play (3) each keep their regular spots as did Marks and Spencer (6) but Amazon.com (5) fell one place, Tesco (7) dropped two places, while Expedia (9) slid one place too. New entrants to the top 10 this quarter were Thompson Holidays (8) and easyJet (10). The biggest mover was Next (4) up five places.

IMRG – Hitwise Hot Shops List, Aug 2009

The IMRG-Hitwise Hot Shops List of the top 50 UK e-retailers* is the key indicator of online merchant performance.  The List is published quarterly and tracks popularity, as indicated by visits, of those selling goods and services within the IMRG Capgemini Index Classification**.  This List is based on July 2009 data.                                             

* The IMRG-Hitwise Hot Shops List excludes eBay and price comparison / aggregator websites such as Kelkoo and Froogle.           
                                   

** IMRG Capgemini Index Classification:  Beer / wine / spirits; Books; CDs / tapes / records; Clothing / footwear / accessories; Computer hardware / peripherals / consumables; Consumer electronics; Digital downloads (e.g. music, software); Flowers; Food, beverages and household supplies; Furniture; Garden / DIY; Health and beauty; Home appliances (e.g. washing machines); Household goods (e.g. kitchenware, bedding); Jewellery / watches; Software; Sporting goods; Tickets (e.g. cinema, theatre, events); Toys; Travel (e.g. flights, holidays, hotels, car hire); Video games; Videos / DVDs 

It’s all steady at the top of the latest Hot Shops List, with the leading three brands retaining their dominance of the UK online shopping scene. Amazon.co.uk (1), Argos (2), Play (3) each keep their regular spots as did Marks and Spencer (6) but Amazon.com (5) fell one place, Tesco (7) dropped two places, while Expedia (9) slid one place too. New entrants to the top 10 this quarter were Thompson Holidays (8) and easyJet (10). The biggest mover was Next (4) up five places.                                              

The biggest movers this quarter were: Thomas Cook (16) moving up fourteen positions, while Odeon Cinemas (26), New Look (27) and First Choice (37) all moved up thirteen spots. Cineworld (30) jumped twelve places, Vue Entertainment (33) was up eleven, while Halfords (39) and John Lewis (18) both lifted their rankings by ten places. There was one new entrant to the list this quarter - ASDA Direct. The Orange Shop and TravelRepublic both re-entered the Top 50 after an absence of just one quarter. Several brands fell significantly this quarter compared to last. Sainsbury's (46) fell twenty-six places, Dell EMEA (38) slipped twenty-four, while Asda (36) moved down thirteen. Another fourteen moved down by less than ten places, with some moving only one or two positions.

IMRG's CEO, James Roper, comments:
"Consumers welcome high street brands’ continuing response to the normalization of internet in the retail mix, as the Hot Shops List shows. Next at 4 edged up into its highest ever ranking this time, while B&Q at 17 was nine places higher than a year ago.  New Look at 27, making its consecutive fourth appearance on the List, jumped thirteen places since May, while Halfords at 39 was up ten spots on the quarter, ranking for just the third time.  Having debuted on the List this May, Homebase took the number 45 spot. ASDA Direct, a new entrant, crept at 49.  This is all very encouraging for hard-pressed consumers who can enjoy the convenience of online shopping with yet more of the familiar brands they know and trust."

Hitwise's Director of Research, Robin Goad, comments:

"Most of the travel companies moved up the rankings this quarter, but this seasonal increase masks an annual decline in traffic to most of the sites. The notable exception was The Train line, which is benefiting from the boom in domestic travel and 'staycations'. This trend has also proved beneficial to other companies providing cheaper entertainment options, including the cinema chains and LOVEFILM. Elsewhere in the list, the bigger fashion stores continue to move up the rankings, with both Next and Marks and Spencer improving over both the quarter and year."

MEDIA ENQUIRIES

About IMRG:  IMRG (Interactive Media in Retail Group), founded in 1990, is the industry association serving e-retail:  www.imrg.org

About Hitwise:
Hitwise, an Experian company, is the leading online competitive intelligence service.

Hitwise gives marketers a competitive advantage by providing daily insights on how 25 million Internet users around the world interact with more than 1 million Web sites. This external view helps companies grow and protect their businesses by identifying threats and opportunities as they develop. Hitwise has more than 1,500 clients across numerous sectors, including financial services, media, travel and retail.

Hitwise, an Experian company (FTS:EXPN), www.experianplc.com, operates in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and Canada. More information about Hitwise is available at www.hitwise.com.

For up-to-date analysis of online trends, please visit the Hitwise research blog at www.ilovedata.com and the Hitwise Data Center at www.hitwise.com/datacenter.

About Experian:
Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients in more than 65 countries. The company helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to manage their credit relationships and protect against identity theft.

Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended 31 March 2009 was $3.9 billion. Experian employs approximately 15,000 people in 40 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; Costa Mesa, California; and São Paulo, Brazil. 

For more information, visit http://www.experianplc.com.