LONDON, January 14 /PRNewswire/ --

- Germany's Season Was Not So Jolly

comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its final study of the online shopping activity of U.K., French and German consumers during the 2007 Christmas season. This study tracked the number of visits to online retail sites each week for the complete period between October 29 and December 23, using data from the comScore World Metrix audience measurement service.

Online Shopping Activity Peaks in First Two Weeks of December

In the U.K. and France, online shopping activity built steadily throughout the season, peaking during the first half of December. The sixth week of the season (Dec. 3 - Dec. 9) recorded the highest level of online shopping activity, up 38 percent versus the base period (Sep. 3 - Oct. 28) in the U.K., and up 45 percent in France. Week 7 (Dec. 10 - Dec. 16) was the second busiest period of online shopping activity, up 35 percent in the U.K. and 39 percent in France.

Germany's online shopping season built more slowly, achieving peak traffic that was only 12 percent higher in the seventh week (Dec 10 - Dec 16) than in the base period. The high point occurred a week later in Germany than in the U.K. and France. The slow season in Germany appears to be the result of low consumer confidence and the rail strikes that brought the country to a stand still early in season.

Christmas Online Shopping Index(i) Visits to Online Retail Sites Excluding Auction Sites U.K., France, & Germany(ii) Source: comScore World Metrix, 2007 Time Period U.K. France Germany Base Period Index (Sep 3 - Oct 28)(iii) 100 100 100 Week 1 (Oct 29 - Nov 4) 112 115 102 Week 2 (Nov 5 - Nov 11) 124 138 105 Week 3 (Nov 12 - Nov 18) 125 127 99 Week 4 (Nov 19 - Nov 25) 123 121 97 Week 5 (Nov 26 - Dec 2) 134 127 97 Week 6 (Dec 3 - Dec 9) 138 145 108 Week 7 (Dec 10 - Dec 16) 135 139 112 Week 8 (Dec 17 - Dec 23) 117 119 107 (i)Point index represents the percentage change in the number of visits to online retail sites compared to the pre-Christmas season base period average, defined as the average weekly visits to online retail sites excluding auction sites for the period Sep 3 - Oct 28 (ii)Total U.K.., French & German Internet Audiences, Age 15+, Home & Work Locations. Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs (iii)Defined as the average weekly visits to online retail sites excluding auction sites for the period Sep 3 - Oct 28

"The online retail season seems to have built normally in the U.K. and France, while Germany lagged behind this Christmas," said Bob Ivins, EVP of European markets for comScore. "The typical pattern we note in all countries, including the U.S., is that online retail activity peaks in mid-December as consumers have to allow time for shipping and delivery of their purchases in most categories."

U.K. Online Retail Traffic Leaders

Throughout the Christmas shopping season, visits in the U.K. to online retail sites were led by Amazon Sites, which attracted a 9-percent share of total online retail category visits for the period. Apple Inc., which also has high-street stores in the U.K., had a 6-percent share, while the Home Retail Group, owner of multi-channel retailers Argos and Homebase, had a 5-percent share. Supermarket chain Tesco and online pure-play retail property Play.com Sites rounded out the top five with 4 percent and 3 percent shares, respectively.

Top Retail Sites by Average Share of Visits from U.K. Users during the Christmas Shopping Period(i) Total U.K., Age 15+ - Home & Work Locations(ii) Source: comScore World Metrix, 2007 U.K. Average Share of Visits to Property Online Retail Sites Amazon Sites 9% Apple Inc. 6% Home Retail Group 5% Tesco Stores 4% Play.com Sites 3% (i)Average share of total visits to online retail sites (excluding auction sites) by U.K. visitors for the period Oct 29 - Dec 23 (ii) Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs

French Online Retail Traffic Leaders

The leading retail site in France during the Christmas shopping season was Groupe PPR. The French multi-channel retailer, which owns brands such as LaRedoute.fr and Fnac.com, earned an 11-percent share of total visits to the online retail sector, more than twice the share of its closest competitor, Apple Inc. Amazon Sites, Otto Gruppe and CDiscount.com each followed with 4 percent of retail site visits.

Top Retail Sites by Average Share of Visits from French Users during the Christmas Shopping Period(i) Total France, Age 15+ - Home & Work Locations(ii) Source: comScore World Metrix, 2007 French Average Share of Visits to Property Online Retail Sites Groupe PPR 11% Apple Inc. 5% Amazon Sites 4% Otto Gruppe 4% CDiscount.com 4% (i)Average share of total visits to online retail sites by French visitors for the period Oct 29 - Dec 23, excluding auction sites (ii) Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs

German Online Retail Traffic Leaders

Throughout the Christmas shopping season, visits to online retail sites in Germany were led by multi-channel catalogue specialist, Otto Gruppe, with a 13-percent share of the online retail visits for the period. Amazon Sites - also a popular choice in the U.K. and France - ranked second with a 9-percent share. Arcandor AG, owner of multi-channel catalogue specialist Karstadt.de, had a 5-percent share, followed by Apple, Inc with 4 percent, and 02online.de with 3 percent.

Top Retail Sites by Average Share of Visits from German Users during the Christmas Shopping Period(i) Total Germany, Age 15+ - Home & Work Locations(ii) Source: comScore World Metrix, 2007 German Average Share of Visits to Property Online Retail Sites Otto Gruppe 13% Amazon Sites 9% Arcandor AG 5% Apple Inc. 4% 02online.de 3% (i)Average share of total visits to online retail sites by German visitors for the period Oct 29 - Dec 23, excluding auction sites (ii) Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs

About comScore

comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world. This capability is based on a massive, global cross-section of more than 2 million consumers who have given comScore permission to confidentially capture their browsing and transaction behavior, including online and offline purchasing. comScore panelists also participate in survey research that captures and integrates their attitudes and intentions. Through its proprietary technology, comScore measures what matters across a broad spectrum of behavior and attitudes. comScore analysts apply this deep knowledge of customers and competitors to help clients design powerful marketing strategies and tactics that deliver superior ROI. comScore services are used by more than 800 clients, including global leaders such as AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, BBC, Carat, Cyworld, Deutsche Bank, France Telecom, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Financial Times, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestle, Starcom, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, Verizon, ViaMichelin, Merck and Expedia. For more information, please visit http://www.comscore.com

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Jamie Gavin of comScore, Inc., +44-(0)-207-099-1775, worldpress@comscore.com