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December 14, 2005
Gift Card Searches up 32%
Posted by Adam Viener
Here is a hitwise release on the increasing popularity of Gift Cards.
NEW YORK, Dec. 14, 2005 — While gift certificates have always been a popular gift choice for the hard-to-please recipient, gift cards have recently risen to prominence as an alternative to participating in the pre-Christmas shopping rush.
According to Hitwise, the world’s leading online competitive intelligence service, the market share of U.S. Internet searches containing the words “gift card” was up 32 percent for the week ending December 10, 2005 compared to the previous week (week ending December 3, 2005). Hitwise captured 643 unique search phrases containing the words “gift card” for the four weeks ending December 10, 2005, up 13 percent versus the same week last year (week ending December 11, 2004). Retailer-agnostic gift cards associated with major credit cards such as; “visa gift card,” “american express gift card” and “master card gift card” dominated general gift card searches, while “itunes gift card,” “olive garden gift card” and “gas gift card” dominated specific gift card searches.
“By examining the number of phrases containing a specific term as well as the volume of searches for that term, online marketers can gain additional insight into consumer behavior and product popularity” said Bill Tancer, General Manager, Worldwide Research at Hitwise. “Combined, the search activity and trend of 2004 online holiday visits, indicate that the week after Christmas will be a busy one for online retailers as shoppers seek to take advantage of post-holiday sales and redeem their gift cards.”
Top Search Terms containing “gift card”
Period - 4 weeks ending 12/10/05
General Gift Cards
visa gift card
american express gift card
mastercard gift card
gift card
simon gift card
free gift card
buy visa gift card
master card gift card
mastercard prepaid gift card
discover gift card
Product Specific Gift Cards
itunes gift card
olive garden gift card
gas gift card
old navy gift card
walmart gift card
toys r us gift card
wawa gift card sweepstakes
hilary duff gift card
lowes gift card
napster gift card
Adam Viener
1. Arul Sundaram on December 15, 2005 6:50 PM writes...
I'm shocked that Corante allows this type of a post. While the information is good - if you call reproducing a press release good - the real travesty here is that the only links here drive to your affiliate site. Sure, I get it - you're an affiliate guy. Look, I've got no issue with that, but I'm amazed that you've got the gall to use the goodwill of Corante, and the traffic they send you to solely drive your own business. Why not link to the Hitwise press release? That's what a helpful blog would do. And, guess what? the release has more information that could be useful to a reader. Only you've forced them to go search for it. Keep it up and I've gotta imagine that you'll be axed from the Corante network. Hopefully you'll lose your status (if you have any) as an objective industry expert, too.
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