14 DAY TRIAL // ComScore has released its latest report on the Internet audience and market for the month of May in the US. While, overall, the market changed very little, there was a big seasonal increase for some categories like gift sites coinciding with Mother's Day, graduations and other events. Coupon sites also saw a big rise in the last month, as cash-strapped Internet users were looking for ways to save some money.
"Mother's Day, along with high school and university graduations and the beginning of wedding season, make May a traditionally strong time of year for flowers, gifts and greetings sites," Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore Media Metrix, commented. "Coinciding with gains to these sites in May we also saw a sharp increase in the number of visitors to online coupon sites this year. As rising summer gas prices put the squeeze on Americans' overall purchasing power, online coupon sites have become an attractive resource for reducing retail costs during this gift-giving season."
The Flowers/Gifts/Greetings category saw a 16-percent growth to 36 million visitors in May, with American Greetings as the top site for the group, having 12.4 million visitors. ProFlowers.com came in second, after experiencing a massive growth of 255 percent from the previous month, rising to 5.6 million visitors. The fastest growing category, though, was Coupons, with a rise of 19 percent to 34.7 million visitors. Coupons.com was the biggest site in the category with an 85 percent growth and 15 million visitors.
The overall trend saw little change, as Google sites held their top position with 157 million unique visitors, followed closely by Yahoo! properties with 151 million. Microsoft sites had 125 million visitors and up-and-coming Facebook gained the number eight spot with 70 million visitors.