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Online Department Stores, Pets and Sporting Goods Big Winners on Valentine’s Day

Coremetrics Reports Jump in Online Orders

SAN MATEO, Calif., February 19, 2009 – The struggling economy showed signs of cautious consumer optimism over the Valentine’s holiday, according to Coremetrics, the leading provider of online marketing and business optimization solutions.

While the online retail sector as a whole registered a 3 percent decrease in order sessions compared to mid-January 2009, the sector reported an average order value jump of more than 2.6 percent. Moreover, the percentage of people who put items in their shopping carts and went on to complete an order rose by more than 1.5 percent. These numbers underscore that those consumers who actually decided to buy online bought items for a higher total dollar amount than at this time last month.

“Everyone wants to know if the economy has hit bottom and if online spending is going to start trending up in a sustained fashion,” said John Squire, chief strategy officer for Coremetrics. “We don’t think we’re there yet but we’re seeing some very encouraging numbers, especially in specific retail categories. We may be entering a period of extreme peaks and valleys, where consumers only open their wallets for specific events like Christmas and Valentine’s Day, followed by periods where shopping comes to a near standstill. Regardless, department stores are doing an exceptional job of bringing consumers to their sites, but the big surprise is that online pet goods stores and sporting goods retailers also reported very strong, very encouraging numbers.”

Notable Retail Categories Compared to mid-January 2009

  • Department Stores reported a slue of positive numbers: the average number of items per order rose nearly 7.8 percent; the average dollar value of those orders rose by nearly 13 percent, while shopping cart conversion rates—or the number of people who not only placed items in their carts, but went on to complete orders—rose by more than 8.5 percent.
  • Gifts retailers experienced a jump of nearly 33 percent in the number of order sessions, not surprising given the traditional nature of gift giving on Valentine’s Day. The average dollar value of orders also rose by 7.3 percent.
  • Jewelry retailers, another favorite among Valentine’s Day traditionalists, experienced a jumped of nearly 80 percent in the number of sessions in which consumers placed at least one item in their shopping carts. Similarly, order sessions jumped by 27 percent. But the average number of items per order and their average dollar value both decreased by 15.7 percent and 20 percent respectively, indicating that while jewelry continued to be a draw among Valentine’s Day shoppers, consumers spent considerably less in this category than in the past.
  • Pet Stores reported solid numbers across the board, from a 5.6 percent rise in order sessions to a 6.2 percent rise in the average number of items per order to a 5.4 percent increase in the average dollar value of those orders.
  • Sporting Goods retailers reported similarly strong numbers, with a jump of 10 percent in order sessions. The average number of items per order jumped more than 7.6 percent and the average dollar value of those orders jumped by
    4.13 percent.

“The numbers for online pet stores and sporting goods retailers are especially compelling because they truly are trending up and to the right by almost every measure,” added Squire. “These are the kinds of numbers we want to see replicated across every category in online retail and at that point we’ll be able to say we’re turning the corner in online consumer spending.”

Read the complete Coremetrics Valentine’s Day 2009 Benchmark Report in PDF.

Source
These findings are based on data from Coremetrics Benchmark™, the industry’s only peer-level benchmarking solution that measures online marketing results, including commerce data, against those of the competition. More than 300 leading U.S. retailers, representing approximately $15 billion in revenues annually, contribute their analytics data to Benchmark. All data is aggregated and anonymized. Abercrombie & Fitch, Alibris, Bloomingdale’s, Coldwater Creek, L’OCCITANE, Macy’s, PETCO and REI are just a few of the participating companies.

About Coremetrics
Coremetrics is the leading provider of online marketing and business optimization solutions. Its products help businesses increase revenues and find and retain their most profitable customers by maximizing every online interaction. More than 1,500 online brands globally, transacting more than $20 billion this year, use Coremetrics’ Software as a Service (SaaS) to optimize their online marketing. Coremetrics’ solutions encompass advanced online analytics and integrated precision marketing applications, including search engine bid management, email targeting and cross sell recommendations to acquire customers more cost effectively, increase conversion rates, and increase lifetime customer value. Coremetrics is consistently recognized by industry analysts and thought leaders, and in 2008 was named to Deloitte's Technology Fast 50 Program for Silicon Valley Internet, Media, Entertainment and Communications companies. The company is privately held with funding from 3i, Accel Partners, FTVentures and Highland Capital Partners, and is headquartered in San Mateo, California.

To learn more about Coremetrics, visit www.coremetrics.com or call 866-493-2673.

Coremetrics has strongly supported online privacy since its inception. To learn more, visit www.coremetrics.com/privacy.

Media Contacts:
Michela Stribling
Director, Corporate Communications
Tel: (650) 762-1433
Email: mstribling@coremetrics.com

Shelley Risk
Horn Group for Coremetrics
Tel: (415) 905-4037
Email: srisk@horngroup.com

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