Hitwise today (2nd June) publishes the new SPECIAL 2ND ANNIVERSARY edition of the IMRG-HITWISE HOT SHOPS LIST, which ranks by popularity, as indicated by visits, the top 50 UK e-retailers* selling goods and services within the IMRG Index Classification.

The full Hot Shops List Report (with year-on-year comparisons) is available by emailing jannie.cahill@hitwise.com

IMRG - Hitwise Hot Shops List, May 2008:

1.Amazon UK
2.Apple Computer
3.Play.com
4.Tesco.com
5.Argos
6.Amazon.com
7.Marks & Spencer
8.Tesco Direct
9.Next
10.easyJet
11.Thomson Holidays
12.Expedia.co.uk
13.Dell EMEA
14.RyanAir.com
15.John Lewis
16.HMV.co.uk
17.lastminute.com
18.ASOS
19.British Airways
20.Currys
21.GAME
22.Ticketmaster UK
23.B&Q
24.Ebuyer
25.Thomas Cook
26.PC World
27.O2 Shop
28.Comet UK
29.First Choice
30.Debenhams
31.ASDA
32.Screwfix Direct
33.TopShop
34.River Island
35.Littlewoods
36.QVCUK.com
37.The Orange Shop
38.Woolworths UK
39.HP
40.Travelodge UK
41.Seetickets
42.Sainsbury's
43.Symantec Store
44.IKEA
45.Odeon Cinemas
46.Boots
47.Carphone Warehouse
48.TravelRepublic.co.uk
49.Maplin Electronics
50.Thomsonfly.com

The IMRG-Hitwise Hot Shops List of the top 50 UK e-retailers is the key indicator of online merchant performance.  The List is published quarterly and tracks popularity, as indicated by visits, of those selling goods and services within the IMRG Index Classification.  This List is based on April 2008 data.

COMMENT - SINCE MAY 2006

- 12  NEW ENTRANTS
- 19  RISERS
- 16  FALLERS
- 3  RETAIN SAME POSITION

Amazon retains the List's top spot every time

Seven of the original May 2006 top ten brands are still top ten

Five of the top ten now have physical stores, up from three

Twenty-three brands are within ten places of their May 2006 ranking

Twenty-eight have high street stores, up from twenty-three in 2006

At number 1, Amazon's dominance of the Hot Shops List has remained unchallenged every quarter since the List was first published, in May 2006.  Apple Computer muscled into second place this time, its highest ranking to date, up from 7 last May and 10 in May 2006.

Play.com (3/ originally 5) held on to the third position it enjoyed in February, having risen one place each year.  Tesco.com (4/4), at 4, pushed Argos (5/3) into its lowest ranking so far, down to number 5.

Seven of the original top ten retain membership of that elite group:  Amazon UK (1/1), Apple Computer (2/10), Play.com (3/5), Tesco.com (4/4), Argos (5/3), Amazon.com (6/6) and easyJet (10/8).  Joining them this May are Tesco Direct (8/NEW), Marks & Spencer (7/23) and Next (9/14).

Half of the top ten retailers now have physical stores, up from just three in May 2006.  Twenty-eight of the fifty Hot Shops now have high street stores, up from twenty-three in 2006.

Leading the fastest climbers are Tesco Direct (8/NEW), which did not exist when the List was introduced, Marks & Spencer (7/23) and HMV (16/32), both of which climbed sixteen places during the two years, ASOS (18/50) up a massive thirty-two places, and ASDA (31/49) up eighteen spots.

Electrical and travel are the sectors most strongly represented on the List, with a dozen specialist vendors each.  The top electrical retailers include Apple Computer (2/10), Dell (13/2), Currys (20/27), PC World (26/30) and Comet (28/22).  Leading travel brands are easyJet (10/8), Thomson Holidays (11/13), Expedia (12/7), RyanAir (14/9), lastminute.com (17/12), British Airways (19/11), Thomas Cook (25/18) and First Choice (29/20).

Clothing is the fastest growing online shopping sector, with eight specialist retailers on the List including two of the biggest risers, Marks & Spencer (7/23) and ASOS (18/50), and two new-to-the-List high street heavyweights - Topshop (33) and River Island (34).  Other hot apparel e-retailers are Next (9/14), John Lewis (15/20), Debenhams (30/36), Littlewoods (35/40) and QVCUK.com (36/29).

Grocery sales are also booming online.  Tesco.com (4/4) continues to lead in this sector, while ASDA (31/49) is making strong headway, and Sainsbury's (42/NEW) joined the List at 45 in November 2007 and has risen three places since then.

The twelve newcomers to the List since May 2006 are Tesco Direct (8), GAME (21), Ebuyer (24), Topshop (33), River Island (34), Sainsbury's (42), Symantec Store (42), IKEA (44) Odeon Cinemas (45), Boots (46), TravelRepublic.co.uk (48) and Maplin (49).

Brands that originally appeared on the List but have since dropped off are MyTravel (17), bmibaby.com (25), XL.com (33), Tesco Electrical (34), Flybe.com (35), Packard Bell (38), Jet2 (39), InterContinental Hotels (42), Monarch Airlines (45) and Opodo (48).

IMRG's CEO, James Roper, comments:

"With the internet dominating retail growth and more than £60 billion worth of online sales at stake this year, it is surprising that so many of the traditional high street retailers are still failing to appear on the Hot Shops List, because that's where the action is.  The internet is the first place millions of people go for their shopping inspiration, and as the economic conditions harden, and money gets tighter, it's inevitably where they will look for best budget-stretching value.  The continuing stability of the List indicates that these leaders are performing well - attracting and keeping customers in a highly competitive marketplace - and are also in great shape to exploit the international e-retail market that is set to flourish soon."

Hitwise's Director of Research, Robin Goad, comments:

"Over the last two years traditional high street stores have significantly improved their online presence, and the Hot Shops List has reflected this change in the market. Two years ago 23 of the top 50 online retailers had an offline presence, but for this latest list the number has increased to 32, including seven of the top ten. Fashion is currently the fastest growing area of online retail, and the sector is now much better represented in the list than it was two years ago, with both high street favourites and new entrants such as ASOS significantly improving their rankings. Overall it’s the sheer range of retailers in the list – from sellers of the latest high tech gadgets to grocery and DIY stores – that illustrates just how central online retail has become to so many people’s lives".

* The IMRG-Hitwise Hot Shops List excludes eBay and price comparison / aggregator websites such as Kelkoo and Froogle.

** IMRG Index Classification:  Beer / wine / spirits; Books; CDs / tapes / records; Clothing / footwear / accessories; Computer hardware / peripherals / consumables; Consumer electronics; Digital downloads (e.g. music, software); Flowers; Food, beverages and household supplies; Furniture; Garden / DIY; Health and beauty; Home appliances (e.g. washing machines); Household goods (e.g. kitchenware, bedding); Jewellery / watches; Software; Sporting goods; Tickets (e.g. cinema, theatre, events); Toys; Travel (e.g. flights, holidays, hotels, car hire); Video games; Videos / DVDs

MEDIA ENQUIRIES

About IMRG:  IMRG (Interactive Media in Retail Group), founded in 1990, is the industry body serving e-retail:  www.imrg.org

About Hitwise:

Hitwise is the leading online competitive intelligence service. Only Hitwise provides its 1,400 clients around the world with daily insights on how their customers interact with a broad range of competitive websites, and how their competitors use different tactics to attract online customers.

Since 1997, Hitwise has pioneered a unique, network-based approach to Internet measurement. Through relationships with ISPs around the world, Hitwise's patented methodology anonymously captures the online usage, search and conversion behaviour of 25 million Internet users. This unprecedented volume of Internet usage data is seamlessly integrated into an easy to use, web-based service, designed to help marketers better plan, implement and report on a range of online marketing programs.

Hitwise, a subsidiary of Experian (FTS: EXPN) www.experiangroup.com  operates in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore. More information about Hitwise is available at Hitwise.

For up-to-date-analysis of online trends, please visit the Hitwise Intelligence-Analyst Weblogs  and the Hitwise Data Center.

For media enquiries, please contact: jannie.cahill@hitwise.com