comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, released a report on selected global retail and auction sites based on data from the comScore Media Metrix service. The study found that of the destinations analyzed, Amazon Sites reached the largest global audience with more than 282 million visitors in June, or 20.4 percent of the worldwide Internet population.

Other top brands in the study included eBay, which reached 16.2 percent of global Internet visitors, China’s Alibaba.com Corporation (11.3 percent reach), Apple.com Worldwide Sites (9.7 percent reach) and Japan’s Rakuten Inc. (4.2 percent reach).

"While retail e-commerce has already grown to become a $150+ billion annual industry in the U.S., it still presents enormous upside opportunity across much of the globe," said Gian Fulgoni, comScore co-founder and chairman. "Technology has changed the way consumers behave, and increasingly they are opting for the convenience and pricing advantages offered by the online channel. Several global retail brands have already capitalized on this global consumer trend, and many other retailers are sure to pursue their share of the pie."

Amazon, eBay and Alibaba See Largest Global Audiences

In June 2011, Amazon Sites had the largest global audience among the retail and auction sites analyzed, with more than 282 million visitors, representing 20.4 percent of the worldwide audience age 15 and older accessing the Internet from a home or work location. eBay was not far behind with 223.5 million visitors (16.2 percent reach), followed by China’s Alibaba.com Corporation, which includes sites such as Taobao, Alibaba.com and Alipay, with 156.8 million visitors (11.3 percent reach). Apple.com Worldwide Sites saw its global audience eclipse 134 million visitors, representing nearly 10 percent of all Internet users, while Japan’s Rakuten Inc. reached nearly 57.8 million visitors in June (4.2 percent reach).

Select Retail and Auction Sites Ranked by Unique Visitors (000) June 2011
Total Worldwide Audience, Visitors Age 15+ - Home/Work Locations
Source: comScore Media Metrix

*Excludes visitation from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.

Geographical Visitation Analysis for Retail and Auction Sites

Analysis of the geographic composition of visitors to these select retail and auction sites revealed a mix of both globally distributed audiences and more regionally concentrated audiences. Amazon Sites and Apple.com Worldwide Sites showed more globally distributed audiences compared to most other brands in the study. Amazon Sites attracted 35.4 percent of its audience from North America, while Europe contributed 31.8 percent of visitors and Asia Pacific accounted for 24.1 percent. Similarly, Apple.com Worldwide Sites attracted 32.0 percent of its visitors from North America, while Europe contributed 29.6 percent of visitors and Asia Pacific accounted for 24.9 percent.

On the other hand, China’s Alibaba.com Corporation (85.7 percent) and Japan’s Rakuten, Inc. (72.7 percent) reach sourced the vast majority of their traffic from the Asia Pacific region. Of the 10 selected sites, MercadoLibre showed the strongest concentration of visitors from a single region with 93.3 percent of its audience from Latin America, where it ranked as the top retail player in the region. German retail site Otto Gruppe also had a heavy single region concentration with Europe accounting for 92.3 percent of its audience. Wal-Mart had the highest concentration of North American visitors at 83.4 percent, while 45.1 percent of Hewlett Packard’s audience was North American.

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