Shoppers stayed away from retailing sites on 9/11, comScore reports
No surprise that last Wednesday, the first anniversary of the Sept. 11
attacks, consumers weren’t thinking about shopping online. ComScore Networks
Inc.’s Media Metrix division reports that total online dollar sales last
Wednesday were 25% lower than the average of the prior six Wednesdays.
Before the anniversary, consumers were keeping up their torrid pace of
online spending. ComScore reports that retail sales online reached $845
million for the week that ended Sept. 1, 49% over the level of the same week a year earlier. Travel spending was $576 million, up 45% vs. a year earlier.
Consumers who weren’t shopping were looking for news. Traffic to CNN.com was 49% higher than the average Wednesday in the preceding six weeks. MSNBC.com’s traffic was 43% higher, Time.com was up 148%, NYTimes.com, 54% and USAToday.com, 37%.
In addition, Nielsen/NetRatings reports that greeting card sites experienced big boosts in traffic. BlueMountain.com’s traffic was up 130% over the prior week, AmericanGreetings.com was up 56% and Hallmark.com was up 36%.
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