Martha Stewart gushes over response to new web site
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia reported online revenue of $3.53 million in the first quarter, up nearly 20% from $2.95 million in the same quarter a year ago. Online ad revenue increased 38%, a positive early sign for the new MarthaStewart.com web site that focuses more on advice and less on selling merchandise, hoping to attract repeat visitors and more advertising.
The company launched its new web site last month, and reported today a less-than-expected drop in web traffic as search engines reindex the new site. For the quarter, the web site had 35.5 million page views and 2.5 million unique visitors per month, compared with 39 million page views and 2.3 million unique visitors in the first three months of 2006. Average time on the site was 10 minutes per visit this year, up from 9 minutes a year ago.
“The web site has been enthusiastically received by consumers and advertisers,” company president and CEO Susan Lyne said in announcing the company’s first-quarter financial results. She also noted that the company has signed a long-term endorsement deal with sewing machine manufacturer SVP Worldwide that is part of an effort to promote the new Martha Stewart Crafts line and craft content on the web site. She said crafts draws the second most traffic to the web site after food.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, No. 367 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, added such new features as editors’ picks, how-to videos and enhanced search features to the new web site. The company says it plans to continue to add features during the year, including personalization and community features in August. Those features will let visitors share, rate and review content, and to interact with each other through groups built around specific interests.
The company as a whole reported first-quarter revenue of $66.7 million, up 7.4% from $62.1 million a year ago. Operating loss was $12.6 million compared with $7.7 million in the first quarter of 2006. The company pointed to a one-time non-cash compensation expense of $5.7 million as contributing to the wider loss, along with the web relaunch expenses. The Internet unit reported an operating loss of $2.5 million in the first quarter, after breaking even in the year-ago quarter, which the company attributed to the expenses associated with launching the revamped web site.
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