February Web Activity
In February, the Internet proved to be an important resource for those reaching out to others on Valentine’s Day and reaching for their checkbooks in preparation for Tax Day. Millions of Americans also turned to the Web for activities related to the Super Bowl and other sporting events.
“Valentine’s Day and the Super Bowl are two more entries on a growing list of events that channel people’s passions and interests onto the Internet,� said Peter Daboll, president and CEO of comScore Media Metrix. “The acceptability of sending sentimental greetings online and the popularity of the Web leading up to and even during TV sports broadcasts are yet further reminders that the line between the online and offline worlds is increasingly blurred.�
The Flowers, Gifts & Greetings category led the way, posting an increase of 33 percent over January 2005 and 23 percent over last February. Spending in the Flowers, Gifts & Greetings category topped $260 million in February – an increase of 55 percent compared to February 2004.
In February, traffic to the Jewelry, Luxury Goods & Accessories category jumped 33 percent compared to the month prior and 39 percent compared to last year. Online spending on Jewelry & Watches, one of the fastest growing product categories in e-commerce in 2004, grew 80 percent to approach $200 million in sales.
Fans of the Super Bowl and Daytona 500 were behind the traffic increases at a number of the top gaining properties and categories. Controversial Super Bowl advertiser GoDaddy.com landed the third spot on the top gaining properties ranking, with a traffic increase of 180 percent in February. Historically, major sporting events tend to produce an increase in visitation to gambling sites, and February was no exception – traffic to the Online Gambling category grew by 12 percent between January and February.
The “Free File� partnership between the IRS and tax software manufacturers helped the tax category again earn top gaining honors in February, with a traffic increase of 43 percent versus January and 8 percent over February 2004. Although the delivery of W-2 forms generally drives significant traffic gains in January, February tends to be a busier month for preparations. Compared to January, the top ten sites in the Taxes category all showed double-digit traffic growth, and HRBlock.com, TaxAct.com and IRS.gov all grew by 50 percent or more.
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Sidney Parfait
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