Lane Bryant catalog site tops online retailers in conversion rate

WomanWithin.com, the recently renamed web site for the Lane Bryant catalog of plus-size women’s apparel, had the highest conversion rate among U.S. online retailers, at 24.7%, according to a report from Internet research firm Nielsen/NetRatings. Home shopping site QVC was second at 16.7% and party supplies retailer Oriental Trading Company was third at 15.2%. Coldwater Creek had held the top spot in April.

In terms of apparel and accessory purchases, eBay led the way, followed by the web site of Victoria’s Secret.

Here are the top 10 sites in terms of conversion rates (limited to those with at least 500,000 unique visitors in May), according to Nielsen’s MegaView Online Retail report:

• Lane Bryant Catalog, 24.7%
• QVC, 16.7
• Oriental Trading Company, 15.2
• Blair.com, 14.5
• Jessicalondon.com, 13.7
• Symantec, 13.5
• Roamans, 13.5
• The Sportsman’s Guide, 12.2
• Christianbook.com, 11.9
• Lillian Vernon, 11.8

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Here are the May rankings of online retailers in five categories, with total number of purchases and customers. All numbers are in thousands (+000).

Apparel & Accessories
• eBay, 3,422, 1,406
• victoriassecret.com, 1,103, 487
• JCPenney, 702, 625
• QVC, 510, 294
• Old Navy, 407, 380

Home & Garden
• eBay, 2,439, 1,286
• Amazon, 658, 630
• JCPenney, 401, 369
• Target, 269, 264
• QVC, 269, 174

Health/Wellness/Beauty
• eBay, 634, 375
• drugstore.com, 348, 313
• Amazon, 289, 277
• QVC, 159, 108
• Victoriassecret.com, 158, 81

Computer Software
• Symantec, 881, 806
• McAfee, 456, 347
• Amazon, 154, 144
• Dell, 77, 77
• eBay, 49, 48

Books
• Amazon, 3,474, 3,025
• eBay, 1,274, 752
• Barnes & Noble, 461, 370
• Abebooks, 133, 104
• Christianbook.com, 112, 103