Last week, several retailers announced steep same-store sales (based upon physical stores open for at least a year) declines in September as compared to previous years. Additionally, other economic indicators such as the Deloitte Research’s Leading Index of Consumer Spending declined in September. At Hitwise, we have been tracking these various economic indicators very closely and are now seeing a similar trend in visitation to the websites of retailers, particularly during the past few weeks where the economy has become top-of-mind for the majority of Americans. Last week, traffic to a custom category of 500 retailers (excludes auctions, classifieds, DVD rentals, and book/music/DVD of the month clubs) declined 5% from the same week during the previous year.

Traffic to the category has been down each week as compared to last year for the past six weeks as financial concerns have risen significantly. These declines are the only drops in retail traffic that have occurred this year and reflect the reaction of consumers that have pulled back on spending in the current economic climate.

These declines have strong implications for the upcoming online holiday season as well as offline sales. Everyone is aware of the role that the Internet plays to influence offline sales through research, so this slowdown may indicate a further ripple effect in sales in retail locations.
Next up, we will look at which product categories are being hit the hardest over the past 6 weeks.