Amazon.com Leads E-Tailing Pack With 54 Million Shopping Visits During the First Half of the Online Holiday Season, According to Nielsen//NetRatings.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 30, 2000

Toys & Games Spike 55 Percent and Consumer Electronics

Jumps 54 Percent

Nielsen//NetRatings, the Internet audience measurement service from Nielsen Media Research, ACNielsen eRatings.com and NetRatings, Inc. (Nasdaq:NTRT), reveals the Top Ten E-Tailers for the first four weeks of Holiday Season 2000, with Amazon.com leading the way among online merchants. Amazon.com attracted nearly 54 million visits, surging 39 percent from the start of the holiday season (see Table 1).

"Amazon.com has leveraged its brand presence and partnerships with companies such as Toys R Us and Drugstore.com to attract millions of consumers," said Sean Kaldor, vice president of eCommerce at NetRatings.

Highlights of Nielsen//NetRatings' Top Ten E-Tailers list include No. 5 EToys.com, which skyrocketed 180 percent to eight million visits, and No. 8 Walmart.com, which saw a 780 percent jump to more than six million visits over the course of the season.

"Looking at the first half of this online shopping season, the e-tailers that have a solid brand, offer an extensive array of products, and promise fast and hassle-free deliveries, are winning the pocketbooks of consumers," added Kaldor. "Out of the three weeks left during the holiday season, the next two weeks is make or break for most e-tailers."

Table 1. Nielsen//NetRatings Top Ten E-Tailers (U.S., Total Visits
Combined Home and Work)

         Site                 Total Visits Weeks      Total Growth for
                               ending Nov. 5-26        Weeks Nov. 5-26

1.       Amazon.com              53,670,460                 38.8%
2.       Dell.com                 9,900,846                 10.8%
3.       CDnow.com                9,324,134                 27.2%
4.       Barnes and Noble         8,878,199                 -3.2%
5.       EToys.com                8,379,630                179.9%
6.       HP.com                   7,371,383                  6.3%
7.       Buy.com                  6,268,735                 29.2%
8.       Walmart.com              6,100,990                779.4%
9.       Hallmark.com             6,031,056                 82.8%
10.      JCpenney.com             5,989,536                 71.6%

      Note: The list is comprised of online merchants, reflecting
individual store brands, whose primary focus is online sales. Excluded
on this holiday list are sites related to travel, ticketing, auctions,
financial services, and shopping aggregators, including comparison
shopping sites and online malls.
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, November 2000

      The Nielsen//NetRatings Holiday E-Commerce Index, which measures
Web surfing in eight product categories, grew eight percent during the
fourth week in November (see Table 2).
      The toys and games category spiked 55 percent over the previous
week as consumers shopped during the Thanksgiving weekend. KBkids.com
rose 83 percent this past week and EToys.com surged 63 percent.
      Consumer electronics sites were also a big hit, showing
week-over-week growth of more than 53 percent. CircuitCity.com
rocketed 105 percent during the week, Radioshack.com jumped 75
percent, while Bestbuy.com spiked 49 percent.

Table 2. Nielsen//NetRatings Holiday E-Commerce Index (U.S., Total
Visits, Combined Home & Work)

Category                       % Change             % Change
                              11/12-11/19          11/19-11/26

TOYS & GAMES                        2.7%              55.1%
CONSUMER ELECTRONICS               16.2%              53.8%
VIRTUAL DEPARTMENT STORES          24.2%              14.0%
SPECIALTY GIFTS                    32.7%              -1.0%
BOOKS/MUSIC/VIDEO                   5.0%              -5.3%
COMPUTER HARDWARE                  18.7%             -13.7%
VALUE-ORIENTED SITES                7.8%             -14.7%
APPAREL                            26.2%             -15.9%
-----------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL                              17.2%               8.2%
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      Note: The index is comprised of five representative sites in each
category, and acts as a barometer to gauge the level of usage of
e-commerce sites during the holiday season. A visit is a single trip
to a shopping site.
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, November 2000

About Nielsen//NetRatings

Nielsen//NetRatings, the Internet audience measurement service from Nielsen Media Research and NetRatings, Inc., collects real-time data from more than 70,000 panel members in the United States. The U.S. panel sample consists of 62,000 at-home users and 8,000 at-work users. These panels collectively represent the largest representative media research sample of Internet users in the industry. Internationally, Nielsen//NetRatings services are provided via ACNielsen eRatings.com, a venture between ACNielsen (NYSE:ART) and NetRatings, Inc. Globally, Nielsen//NetRatings services measure the Internet experiences of nearly 200,000 global Internet users.

Nielsen//NetRatings services use unique technology capable of measuring both Internet use and advertising to provide the most timely, accurate and comprehensive Internet usage data and advertising information in the global marketplace. Nielsen//NetRatings services leverage proprietary data-collection technology from NetRatings, Nielsen Media Research's 50 years of expertise in research and audience measurement, and ACNielsen's international leadership in supplying market research information covering more than 100 countries. For more information, please visit www.nielsen-netratings.com.

Editor's Note: Please source all data to Nielsen//NetRatings.