Online holiday shopping is a lot of bargain hunting, Compete reports

Online holiday shoppers this year are looking for bargains, says new research from researchers and consultants Compete Inc.

Evidence: Discount retailers are experiencing the greatest online growth and many customers are visiting multiple sites but viewing the same products, says Compete’s research.

Since Thanksgiving week, unique visitors to WalMart.com are up 71%, conversions are up 146% page views are up 51%. The increases at Target.com are 97%, 220% and 71% in the same areas, Compete reports. While those three areas have all increased at major sites such as Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, KBToys.com, Buy.com and BestBuy.com, WalMart.com and Target.com are experiencing the greatest increases.

Furthermore, Compete reports, more of Amazon`s and BestBuy`s visitors are now browsing the Wal-mart and Target sites. This trend began in September, but has intensified since the start of the holiday season. Since September, three times as many Amazon visitors are going to Wal-mart and Target, and two and a half times as many Best Buy visitors are doing the same. “This suggests price sensitivity and comparison-shopping,” Compete says.

In addition, shoppers are interested in the same types of products and product categories at each site they visit, Compete says. “This indicates that consumers are approaching holiday shopping with a value-conscious mindset--either buying the products from discounters instead of mid-level retailers, and/or opting for lower-price point products for products such as electronics and cameras, at discounters,” Compete says.