RESTON, Va. — comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today
released its monthly analysis of U.S. Web activity at the top-growing properties
and site categories for February 2010 based on data from the comScore Media
Metrix service. Valentine’s Day celebrations sent millions of Americans to
Personals, e-Cards, and Gifts Sites as they planned for the occasion, while
millions also flocked to tax sites as the April 15 filing deadline inched
closer.
“Online personals sites reached record levels in February as millions of
Americans looked for the special someone to share Valentine’s Day with,” said
Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore Media Metrix. “Visitation to
tax sites also continued to build with the tax deadline getting closer and an
increasing number of Americans turning to the Web for the convenience of filing
their taxes online.”
Due to February being the shortest month of the year, gains in Internet usage
across site categories were muted relative to typical months.
Valentine’s Day Romance Sweeps the Internet
e-Cards ranked as one of the top-gaining site categories in February, growing 7
percent to 23.1 million visitors, as consumers sent their loved ones Valentine’s
Day cards. MyFunCards.com led the category with 6.3 million visitors, up 75
percent versus January. Evite.com attracted 5 million visitors during the month,
followed by AG Interactive with 4.8 million (up 13 percent), 123Greetings.com
with 3.0 million (up 15 percent), and Yahoo! Greetings with 869,000 (up 7
percent).
Flowers/Gifts/Greetings sites also saw a 7-percent gain in February, growing to
32.3 million visitors. AmericanGreetings Property grabbed the #1 position with
10.6 million visitors, while ProFlowers.com surged 412 percent to 5.3 million
visitors. Gifts.com ranked third with 4.3 million visitors, followed by Hallmark
with 3.2 million (up 12 percent). 1-800-Flowers.Com, Inc. closely followed
Hallmark with nearly 3.2 million visitors (up 97 percent).
Online Personals sites also grew in popularity during the month, experiencing a
5-percent increase to 24.2 million visitors. eHarmony ranked as the #1 Personals
site during the month, attracting 5.0 million Americans (up 82 percent), while
Match.com Sites ranked second with 3.4 million visitors. PlentyOfFish.com
attracted 2.8 million visitors, followed closely by SinglesNet.com with 2.6
million.
Tax Sites Guide Americans through Filing Frenzy
Tax sites saw another month of gains as the filing deadline approached and
Americans looked for tax information or to file their returns online. The
category attracted 32.1 million visitors in February, up 12 percent from
January.
Auto Industry Rebound and Recalls Attract Consumer Interest Online
In February, auto consumers were occupied with government policy, recalls, new
model releases, and special offers, which boosted traffic to Auto Manufacturer
sites. The category saw 24.6 million visitors during the month, up 5 percent
since January, with General Motors taking the top spot with 5.8 million
visitors. Toyota ranked second in the category with 5.4 million visitors (up 7
percent), followed by Ford Motor Company with 4.8 million, Honda with 3.6
million (up 7 percent), Nissan with 2.5 million (up 24 percent), and Chrysler
with 2.1 million (up 7 percent).
About comScore Media Metrix
comScore Media Metrix provides industry-leading Internet audience measurement
services that report details of online media usage, visitor demographics and
online buying power for the home, work and university audiences across local
U.S. markets and across the globe. comScore Media Metrix reports are used by
financial analysts, advertising agencies, publishers and marketers. comScore
Media Metrix syndicated ratings are based on industry-sanctioned sampling
methodologies.
About comScore
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world
and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more information,
please visit
www.comscore.com/companyinfo.
Source:
comScore, Inc.