FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Online sales of both tickets and toys surge in recent days
Reston, VA - November 21, 2001 - Following the North American release of the movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer`s Stone on November 16, comScore Networks` statistics confirm the incredible global branding power of Harry Potter. With a powerful combination of online marketing, movie release and branded children`s toys and games, Harry Potter may well set the standard against which integrated brand marketing is measured in the years to come.
comScore`s analysis of worldwide visitor activity at harrypotter.com, shows that traffic to the site surged during the past week, recording 3.1 million unique visitors - up 33% over the previous week. Importantly, the Web site`s audience from outside the United States was even larger than its domestic base, with 33% of the overall visitors originating from countries outside the U.S. comScore data also reveal that advance online ticket sales for the Harry Potter movie were nearly as strong as eventual opening weekend online sales. Rounding out the enormous impact of the brand, frenzied consumer buying made Harry Potter a leading brand of toys and games purchased online.
comScore`s data are obtained from its unique, patent-pending ability to monitor the actual on-line browsing and buying activity of a massive and representative cross section of 1.5 million Internet users who have agreed to have their behavior monitored.
A daily analysis of traffic to harrypotter.com showed that international visitors accounted for a dominant 60% of the site`s audience in the early days of the week ending November 18, when daily unique visitors averaged below 400,000 per day. As public anticipation mounted through the week, traffic to the site surged, reaching a peak of 808,000 worldwide visitors on Saturday, November 17 - and by that day the audience was driven largely by U.S. fans, who accounted for half of all traffic to the site.
Consistent with other industry reports, comScore data showed that online sales of tickets to the Harry Potter movie grew consistently in the days leading up to the movie`s U.S. release on November 16. comScore reported that from November 1-16, advance online sales of tickets to the movie totaled approximately $3 million; over the weekend of November 17-18, additional sales pushed this total to more than $4 million. For the weekend of November 17-19, the film accounted for fully 90% of all online movie ticket sales.
Reflecting the clear strength of the Harry Potter phenomenon, sales of toys and games bearing the character`s name grew commensurately. For the week ending November 18, online sales of Harry Potter toys and games increased more than 60% vs. the week ending November 11, and more than 250% vs. the week ending November 4 making it the number four on-line brand - up dramatically from a number 14 ranking during the previous week.
"The unprecedented appeal of this movie - and the Web site and toys associated with it - reflects the improving mood of Americans and others around the world," noted Dan Hess, comScore Vice President. "People appear ready to have fun again, to shop again, to enjoy online content other than just daily updates on world events. We`re seeing this clearly in global browsing behavior as well as online sales data."
About comScore Networks
comScore Networks provides the Internet E-conomy with data-based infrastructure services that help improve sales and marketing effectiveness. Through its patent-pending Customer Knowledge Platform, comScore provides a confidentially captured, 360-degree view of the surfing behavior of more than 1.5 million opt-in Internet users, while simultaneously capturing detailed information on their online and offline buying. By leveraging this superior customer knowledge, comScore clients can optimize their decision-making and fuel high-performance, multi-channel CRM solutions. comScore`s suite of services - including netScore, comScore Global Network Solutions, and comScore Private Network Solutions -- provides enterprises with a detailed understanding of the surfing and buying behavior of today`s online consumers - including what they buy, how often, where, and how much they spend. comScore services are used by global leaders such as Microsoft, Kraft, Johnson & Johnson, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, GlaxoSmithKline, Hyatt Hotels, Dell, and AT&T.; For more information, please visit www.comscore.com and www.netscoreonline.com.
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