Online retailers see drop in visitors

(Credit: Hitwise)

Reflecting consumer pessimism toward the current economic climate, online retailers experienced a decline in visits for the eighth straight week, according to a report released Tuesday.

Traffic to a custom collection of 500 retail Web sites monitored by analyst Hitwise declined 3 percent for the week ending October 25 compared with the same week a year ago.

The declines mirror the overall decline in consumer spending the past couple of months. Visits to Hitwise's Retail 500 Index were up 14 percent from June through August compared with the same period in 2007, but then declined 4 percent in September.

"These declines have strong implications for the upcoming online holiday season as well as offline sales," Heather Dougherty, research director at Hitwise, said in a statement. "Everyone is aware of the role that the Internet plays to influence offline sales through research, so this slowdown may indicate a further ripple effect in sales in retail locations."

Online music retailers saw the greatest year-over-year traffic decline for the week of October 25, dropping 21 percent. Computers saw the second greatest decline at 18 percent, followed by ticketing at 12 percent. Toys and hobbies saw a decline of 10 percent, as did video and games, according to Hitwise.

[pcsurveillance]

We have noticed an increase of hits, unfortunately less conversions due to the economy. I don't think this will change until after the election.


Ryan Temple
PCSurveillance
www.pcsurveillance.net
www.store.pcsurveillance.net

[teachtopia]

Well...visits alone don't necessarily equate to sales.
I am in the e-commerce business and I have found that traffic and conversions are two seperate things.

My http://childrensbookradio.com site converts while I have some other sites (that get more traffic) that don't convert nearly as well..

My advice to online retailers is to make their sites top notch and hope that their quality content equals conversions.

[inachu]

Maybe they see a drop because for every page we access to possibly purchase somethign we get in return pop up ads and marketers wanting us to filll out a questionaire every 5 minutes.

LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!

[zincmann]

LISTEN UP Online Retailers:

You want our business, make my shopping experience easy. No hidden fees or charges, If you dont have a operating licence in my state dont charge me Sales tax for my state as I was unpleasantly surprised with a purchase from Buy.com, although the cheapest price, i didnt expect to pay tax.

Dont overcharge me for shipping, I actually ended up buying an item locally at a brick and mortar store because most of the shipping on a LIGHTBULB for a snowblower was rediculously high for something that maybe weighed a few ounces.

Ship it fast and no excuses when its out of stock, if I ordered it make sure your inventory is REAL time, i cant see what you have in stock so I depend on you to do that for me. If you have inconvenienced me by not having enough inventory of an item, offer me some credit and make me happy.

Dont barrage me with weekly "specials" emails, if I want something i will come on your website and make the purchase, its called spam and its not acceptable.

And finally, make sure the item you put in the box is presentable box etc etc, i dont want something that was returned and re-sealed up, that just leaves a bad taste in my mouth

[zincmann]

Oh and MOST of all, SHARPEN YOUR PRICING PENCILS, i am going to have LESS to spend this year for the Christmas season, which means if you want my dollars you better have the best price. Youre not offering me much more than anyone else, so if the price is not right, you might as well shutter your doors. Unless you have fantastic customer service and I havent come across one customer service department that wasnt highly flawed.

[Bodyc]

We have not seen a dip in traffic but have seen an increase of 9% this month. But we have also notice our conversion rates going down a little. The good news and we don't understand it "due to the economy" is our average sale ticket at <a href="www.bodyconcept.com"> BodyConcept.com </A> has grown 11% in the last 3 months.