Pragmatic shoppers spend more time scrutinizing deals

12 Feb '08

3 min read

January 2008 ShopLocal Index highlights include:
- The ShopLocal Index, though up 20 percent versus January 2007, is down from 36 percent annual growth in 2007. The twenty percent growth is the lowest monthly percentage increase since the Index was launched in January of 2007. These findings are consistent with the recent release of the January retail sales figures that showed only a 0.2 percent increase in the month.
- The Index showed 232 million page views in January, versus approximately 193 million last year (benchmarked at 100 from January 2006.)
- Page views per visit on a per retailer basis reached 11.5, a nine percent jump versus last January as shoppers spent more time reviewing the online circulars for the best deals and savings.
- Department stores (65 percent monthly growth) and mass merchants (27 percent monthly growth) continue to lead as the top retail categories in the Index.

"We believe this month's Index reflects a combination of the consumer's hesitation in shopping and their stronger value orientation," said Vikram Sharma, CEO at ShopLocal.

"However, even in this soft month, the growth of the Index continues to support forecasts by Forrester and Jupiter of the ongoing increase in online-influenced offline shopping.

Consumers are becoming increasingly savvy about using the Internet to find deals as retailers shift more of their advertising online."

ShopLocal

More Fashion News - United States Of America...