FAQs General FAQs
How is the Second 500 data compiled?
The starting point for data gathering is the retailers' web traffic from Compete Inc. and comScore Inc. That list is supplemented with merchants that Internet Retailer has covered. Whenever possible, web sales listed in the electronic and print versions of the Second 500 came from the company. If the company did not provide sales figures, Internet Retailer estimated sales based on traffic and assumed conversion rate for that retailer's category as well as on analyst interviews to formulate estimates. For monthly visits and monthly unique visitors, official numbers were supplied by many retailers. When a retailer did not reveal numbers, researchers used comScore, Compete or Internet Retailer estimates. For the conversion rate, in most instances researchers used category data and analyst interviews to formulate estimates. For the average ticket, if the merchant would not reveal a number, researchers used category data and analyst interviews to formulate estimates. In all instances where an estimate is used it is footnoted. Retailers were given multiple opportunities to review and respond to estimates.
What sources are used when compiling the Second 500 data?
Researchers contact each retailer several times over the course of data collection to compile, collect and fact-check each merchant's information. If the merchant did not provide full financial, operations and web site summary information, Internet Retailer used metrics from that retailer's category as well as analyst interviews to formulate estimates. Additional data is supplied to the Second 500 from these information partners: comScore Inc., Compete Inc. and CompuwareGomez. In all instances where an estimate is used or the data is supplied from a third-party, the figure is footnoted. Retailers were given multiple opportunities to review and respond to estimates and metrics provided by third-party research firms.
Do the Second 500 rankings change each year?
Yes. Each year as the web retailing market grows in size, new and bigger web retailers are added to the rankings while some smaller companies drop off. In the 2011 edition, the company ranked as No. 501 had annual web sales of about $13 million.
How often is the data for the Second 500 in the Top500Guide.com updated?
The newly compiled annual information for all Second 500 retailers included in the 2011 edition will be uploaded and available to subscribers this summer. Data and profiles for individual retailers are updated throughout the year. Updates may include new vendor relationships and newly hired or promoted executives.
FAQs Print FAQs
Where do your figures for a certain e-retailers online sales come from?
The Top500Guide.com is not merely a static electronic version of the Top 500 Guide printed pages. It's a dynamic database product that allows subscribers to access all of the data in the Top 500 Guide to answer customized queries. For example, if you want to find out which apparel web sites have the highest average tickets, you can generate a report that ranks apparel sites based on their average tickets (highest to lowest) and then add four additional data elements on those e-retailers that will be included in the custom report. The online guide is also accessible from any computer, is updated daily with news reports on the Top 500 merchants and includes latest quarterly data on each of the e-retailers ranked.
How do we get our web site listed in the Second 500 Guide?
Somewhat the way a musician gets to Carnegie Hall, except that practice, practice, practice is replaced by sell, sell, sell. Since all e-retailer rankings in the Second 500 Guide are based on a web merchant's prior year online sales, retailers must demonstrate that they have annual online sales that are at least as high as the 500th-ranked web site. If your site has those numbers and we failed to include you in the Guide, contact Internet Retailer's Research Director, Mark Brohan, via e-mail (mark@verticalwebmedia.com ) and he'll get back to you.
How do you collect all the additional non-sales information on each of the e-retailers profiled in the Second 500 Guide?
The Second 500 Guide uses a combination of internal research staff and well-known e-commerce market measurement firms such as comScore, Compete.com and Compuware/Gomez to collect and verify information. For example, the internal research staff spends up to four months breaking down the more than two dozen individual features and functions on each Second 500 web site. Key metrics such as monthly unique visitors or total monthly visits are supplied by the retailer or compiled by comScore or Compete Inc.
Who on the IR team researches the Second 500 Guide content?
A team of four senior editors headed up by the research director spends six months each year compiling data, writing profiles, researching companies and fact-checking data for each Second 500 retailer. Surveys with compiled historical information are sent to each existing Second 500 merchant and likely newcomers at the beginning of each research cycle. Retailers then up update their information and the new data is verified and edited by the research team. Each retailer sees their individual compiled data summary at least three times during the course of the research to verify and update their information.
If we don't want our company in the Second 500 Guide, can we ask you to not include us?
You can ask, but the answer will always be no. The Second 500 Guide is a painstakingly researched and objective editorial product. If we have information that puts your company among the 501 to 1000 largest e-retailers in the country, we owe it to the buyers of the Guide to include you in the rankings.
Why is the Second 500 Guide published in May when the numbers it collects and reports are for the prior year's online sales?
The Second 500 Guide is edited and published as soon after the end of the fourth quarter as humanly possible in order to supply the online retailing market with the most-up-to-date information. Most Second 500 retailers, including both public and private companies, don't disclose their annual financials such as web sales until the period of late January through early April. By the July publication date, the Second 500 staff has surveyed the industry and compiled the latest web sales total for each merchant ranked in the Second 500 Guide.
You sell up to three copies of the Second 500 Guide at a reduced rate on your web site. Do you offer even lower per-copy prices for volume orders that exceed three copies?
Yes. To purchase more than three copies of the Second 500 Guide (there is no limit so long as the stock is available), contact Chaz McCrobie-Quinn (chaz@verticalwebmedia.com ), who will quote volume discount prices and process your order.
How can we advertise in the Second 500 Guide?
Contact the IR advertising representative for your region. For information on who that person is, go to the Contact Us page of this web site.
Do the rankings change each year?
Yes. Each year as the web retailing market grows in size, new and bigger web retailers are added to the rankings while some smaller companies drop off.
Is the Second 500 Guide updated with fresh sources of additional material each year?
As web retailing becomes more complex, the Second 500 Guide keeps up with the times by adding new metrics and each year. For example in the 2010 edition, new metrics include how each Second 500 merchant grades out for search engine optimization and a breakdown of each retailer's online shopper demographics.
FAQs Online FAQs
What is the primary advantage of the online version that makes it three times the cost of the print version?
It's a dynamic database product that allows subscribers to access all of the data in the Second 500 Guide to answer customized queries. For example, if you want to find out which apparel web sites have the highest average tickets, you can generate a report that ranks apparel sites based on their average tickets (highest to lowest) and then add four additional data elements on those e-retailers that will be included in the custom report. The online guide is also accessible from any computer, is updated daily with news reports on the Second 500 merchants and includes latest quarterly data on each of the e-retailers ranked.
Can I retrieve information on Second 500 e-retailers in a certain state or zip code?
Yes. The latest version of the Top500Guide.com includes a function that allows users to identify and rank e-retailers in any geographic region, either by selecting a zip code range or a state. One of the benefits of subscribing to the online version of the Guide is that additional features are always being added during the year - at no added cost to the subscriber.
How often is the data in the Top500Guide.com for the Second 500 updated?
The new compiled annual information for all Second 500 retailers included in the 2011 edition will be uploaded and available to subscribers in late July. Data and profiles for individual retailers are updated throughout the year. Updates may include newly released quarterly web sales, new vendor relationships and newly hired or promoted executives.
What's more popular with subscribers - the print or the online version?
At the moment, there are as about many buyers of the online version as the print version, although like everything in the media world, the online version is growing at a faster rate.
Can I purchase multiple licenses for people in my company to access the Top500Guide.com database at a discounted per-license fee?
Yes, Internet Retailer encourages companies to make the exclusive research in the Second 500 Guide available to as many of their company managers as possible. We do that through deep discounts on multiple-user licenses that goes as low a $53 per license for 20 licenses - a 73% discount from the single-license fee.
Do I have access to a large amount of historical information?
Yes. After a subscriber logs on and is on the home page, there is an option to select different annual editions of the Second 500 database to research and compare and rank metrics and prepare custom reports.
If I can't find the information I am looking for or have a technical or customer service problem, who do I contact?
For any question related to content, please e-mail research director Mark Brohan at mark@verticalwebmedia.com or phone 312-362-9535. Technical and customer service questions can be directed to Chaz McCrobie-Quinn at chaz@verticalwebmedia.com.
How is the Top500Guide.com most utilized by subscribers?
Internet Retailer created the Top500Guide.com web site with a goal of giving subscribers the online information and tools they need to access data based on their own unique need each time they log on. In general the most popular data sorts include ranking web retailers on annual web sales, identifying key vendor relationships and identifying key executives.
What sources of information are used to compile the information for Top500Guide.com?
Researchers contact each retailer several times over the course of data collection to collect and fact check each merchant's information. If the merchant did not provide full financial, operations and web site summary information, Internet Retailer used metrics from that retailer's category - as well as analyst interviews - to formulate estimates. Additional data is supplied to the Second 500 from these information partners: comScore Inc., Compete.com, Conductor.com and Compuware/Gomez.
What is the fastest way to find the complied information on individual Second 500 companies?
The newly updated site search tool on Top500Guide.com allows subscribers to quickly access an individual Second 500 retailer's full information, including their profile. For example, after a subscriber Types "Amazon" or "Amazon.com" into the search box and clicks on the GO button, they will be taken to the company profile page for Amazon. This will be the case for all Second 500 retailers.
Ways to Get It
Access the searchable, rankable guide from any computer for $195 a year.
Purchase the Second 500 Guide and keep it at your desk for just $69.
Need info on a few companies? Individual profiles are $15 each.
Advertisement
