Jewelry, luxury goods, and accessories Web sites posted a 22 percent increase in unique visitors for the month of December, when compared with the prior month, according to comScore Media Metrix, a division of ComScore, Inc. 
More than 24 million unique visitors entered jewelry, luxury, and accessories Web sites for the month, compared with November’s figure of 19.6 million, the Reston, Va.-based company said. This category placed third among those categories tracked by the company, which details online media usage, visitor demographics, and online buying power.
Unique visitors refer to persons who visit a Web site more than once within a specified period of time.
Fragrances and Cosmetics led all categories with a 30 percent increase (21.5 million unique visitors) in December followed by the Consumer Goods category with a 23 percent rise (35.9 million unique visitors, comScore said.
The remaining categories that posted strong gains are as follows:
Total Unique Visitors (000) 
              
                                       Nov-07      Dec-07     % Change 
* Shipping,                      30,693       36,990      21
* Retail – Music               23,846       27,933      17
* Gay/Lesbian                   2,043         2,367      16
* Retail – Food                16,629       19,000      14
* Weather                        60,132       68,388     14
* Sports/Outdoor             32,244       36,586     13
* Flowers/Gifts/Greetings  39,753       44,594     12
Overall, December saw increased traffic to retail sites, shipping sites, and weather sites.
“While the online holiday shopping promotions begin in earnest in November, the heaviest shopping and online spending actually occurs in December,” said Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore Media Metrix. “With shipping date guarantees extending later and in-store pickup options available, online holiday shopping is becoming increasingly conducive to the procrastinator.”

JCK