REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 26, 2001 — The MSN® network of Internet services today announced that visitors to MSN spent $5.6 billion online during the 2001 holiday season. 1 Exceeding early predictions, MSN eShop witnessed a 106 percent increase in the number of shoppers who visited the site during this year’s holiday season compared with last year. 2
“More and more people are enjoying the unbeatable combination of the stores they trust, unbiased advice, useful comparison shopping tools and the convenience of shopping any time from the comfort of their home or office,”
said Jim Barr, general manager of Commerce Services at MSN.
”
Online sales at MSN have increased by 56 percent this year, certainly a clear indication that online shopping has come of age.” 1
MSN has also helped merchants exceed their online sales goals.
“Fossil’s expectations of holiday sales were greatly enhanced due to the high traffic from MSN,”
said Ashley Brown, Web marketing manager of Fossil.
”
The MSN exclusive offer promotion prominently displayed
exclusive Fossil products, generating three times the expected sales volume, thus tripling our daily sales goal.”
MSN Holiday Shopping Season Highlights
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Visitors to MSN spent $5.6 billion online this holiday season. 1
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In November, MSN users outspent the average Internet user by 28 percent. 1
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According to the latest report from Nielsen//NetRatings, MSN eShop had the highest shopping reach among portals on the Web, with an 88 percent increase in November traffic compared with November 2000. 3
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The peak traffic day at MSN eShop was Dec. 13, with three times the number of page views within 24 hours compared with the peak traffic day in 2000. 2
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The most popular gifts purchased at MSN eShop this season were digital cameras, PDAs and MP3 players, as well as movie-related and wireless products. 2
Post-Holiday Bargains at MSN eShop
Consumers looking to take advantage of sales following the holiday shopping season can turn to the convenience of the Bargain Center at MSN eShop to find the best deals on the Web. The Bargain Center provides a central location for shoppers to take advantage of post-holiday clearance racks and sale items, free shipping offers, or great discounts on additional items with a purchase. For more information visit http://bargains.msn.com/ .
About MSN
MSN attracts more than 270 million unique users worldwide per month. Available in 34 markets and 18 languages, MSN is a world leader in delivering Web services to consumers and digital marketing solutions to businesses worldwide. The most useful and innovative online service today, MSN brings consumers everything they need from the Web to make the most of their time online. MSN is located on the Web at http://www.msn.com/ . MSN worldwide sites are located at http://www.msn.com/worldwide.ashx .
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
1 Source: Comscore, BPI 2001
2 Source: Microsoft internal data, December 2001
3 Source: Nielsen//Netratings, November 2001, Muliticategory-Commerce, Mass Merchandiser category
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