Canadians may celebrate Thanksgiving in October but similar seasonal trends are apparent in online holiday shopping. Canadian Internet visits to Shopping and Classifieds websites peaked two weeks ago, in the week ending November 27, 2009 – the same week as in the US. While Canadian Internet visits to retail websites reached a peak of 5.46% of all Internet visits in that week, in the US, visits were almost double the level seen in Canada, at 10.74% of US Internet visits.
Comparing visits to retail sub-categories last week (week to December 12, 2009) and eight weeks ago (week to October 17, 2009), the following categories have seen the biggest gains in visits:
- Flowers and Gifts +72%
- Appliances and Electronics +47%
- Video and Games +30%
- Department Stores +29%
- Computers +29%
In order to get an idea of the hot products this holiday season in Canada (my colleague Heather Dougherty posted hot US products last week), I looked at our Fast Moving Search Terms report for the twelve weeks to December 12, 2009 and compared it to the twelve weeks to October 17, 2009. This report shows the fastest moving search term, based on relative change, comparing those two twelve week periods. (Note the report can also be run with weekly data).
As you might expect, Zhu Zhu mania has also infected Canada. Other popular products include:
- Knifty Knitters
- Easy Bake Oven
- Jim Shore Figurines
- Skull Candy Headphones
- Sony eBook Reader
- Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit
- Vornado Foot Heater (With temperatures plummeting and snow banks climbing – this is perhaps unsurprising)
- Disney Karaoke
Fast Moving Search Terms offer ideas for search marketing campaigns and website content. Also, understanding the relative performance of categories in the lead up to Christmas can help firms benchmark success. We’ll continue to watch this category in the final days for online shopping. In the meantime, happy shopping and happy holidays!