Microsoft is all about percentages and applauding every success. In this regard, the traffic increase experienced by MSN Shopping makes no exception to the rule. More so, since Microsoft is reporting that MSN Shopping has hit record traffic starting with Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and through Cyber Monday. Microsoft has failed to identify the reasons for the traffic jump. "Increase in traffic is believed to be due to MSN Shopping's improved selection, handcrafted gift guides, popular Sales and Deals page, and tighter integration with MSN and Live Search," revealed the Redmond Company in a press release.

At the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season, MSN Shopping recorded a traffic increase of 21% over the similar period in 2005. Also compared with the previous year, MSN Shopping visitors jumped more than 63% on Cyber Monday.

"Online shoppers are always on the lookout for the perfect product, but they also want to find that item from the widest possible selection," said Jim Barr, general manager for MSN Shopping at Microsoft. "Offering more than 30 million products from over 8,000 merchants in one place, MSN Shopping gives consumers the best of both worlds with easy access to our hand-picked collections, extensive reviews and comparison features that help them make sense of all of the choices we provide."

MSN Shopping features more than 30 million products from 8,000 stores. In this regard, the Redmond Company informed that the number of merchants has also increased compared with 2005, growing by 26%. Although the company failed to deliver additional statistics, it did say that Madden NFL 07 was the most popular game, while Marshmallow Fun Company Marshmallow Shooter is the most popular toy.