ComScore January survey reveals uptick, Web de-stress tactics

Fifty-two percent of people stressing out about the economic situation are de-stressing by surfing the Web -- more than using the TV or family time to knock the edge off, according to numbers released Thursday by comScore.

On the other hand, according to statistics presented by comScore chairman Gian Fulgani, we're stressing out plenty online as well. The consumer-research firm, which tracks online and offline activities for more than 2 million Americans, notes an increase in certain search terms that appear to be a sign of the times.

Searches on "discount" were up 27% during January. They were up 58% on "mortgage"; on "bankruptcy," 100%; on "foreclosure," 83%; on "coupons," 157%. "Umemployment" and "unemployment benefits" jumped 160% and 223% respectively. A breathtaking 23% of all comScore consumers making under $50,000/year reported having lost at least one job in the past year, with 27% more in that salary bracket actively afraid if could happen to them. (Job-loss percentages in $100K-and-over set were modest at 5%, and the middle bracket reported 11% losses.)

ComScore looked at both Q4 2008 and January '09 traffic results in their Thursday Webinar, and at both e-commerce and offline commerce that connects back to the Internet via comparison-shopping research, advertising, and the like.

Overall, comScore's numbers for Q4 '08 tracked pretty closely with those recently released by the Department of Commerce, though a difference in how the two entities track gift-card sales made for a holiday-season gap. The DoC claimed Q4 sales of $37.1 billion for a year-over-year decline of 4.9%. ComScore, which counts gift cards in sales numbers when they're sold rather than when they're redeemed, saw sales of $39.3 billion, for a year-over-year decline of 3.5%.

Coupons are, as one might expect, a popular money-saving strategy in these times. Gian Fulgani, chairman of comScore, suggests that a tipping point might be at hand for electronic coupon plans, as cautious consumers look for bargains and the traditional giant of coupon disbursal -- print newspapers -- staggers. 42% of consumers still get their coupons from the Sunday paper, but 29% get theirs online. The combination of coupon programs with preferred-buyer programs seems to be particularly effective.

As mentioned, the Internet also drives offline sales these days. 34% of those surveyed bought something offline because of an online search, comparative evaluation, or coupon. That's up eight percentage points year-over-year. As Fulgani put it, the market has advanced to the point where "you don't need the click to get the impact" of online display ads or of a well-executed Web site.

Wait, someone's buying things? What could those things be? Indeed, e-commerce numbers were actually up in Janaury, a bit -- 2% year-to-year, and 1% between December and January. Both the computer/peripheral/PDA and "other consumer electronics" segments were essentially flat, though, showing 1% declines and advances respectively. Offline, on the other hand, electronics retail stores were down 8%. Ecommerce saw gains year-over-year in a few niches -- sports (up 16%), consumer electronics (up 3%), and apparel and accessories (up 2%).

Overall, pure-play e-commerce outlets account for 56% of sales, though multichannel vendors (that is, outfits that sell both online and off) experienced their customary December uptick and accounted for 48% percent of sales before falling to 44% in January -- a flat ratio year-to-year.

In an unrelated announcement, comScore also released their monthly stats on the 50 top Web sites in the US. The company notes the usual strong seasonal traffic in tax-prep info and spring-travel getaways, economic echoes in the continuing popularity of jobs and unemployment-related sites as seen above, and news-driven interest in salmonella and the new president.

Search sites (as we saw yesterday) lead the pack, but among the retailers represented on the list, we find eBay (#7), Amazon (#8), Apple (#13), Wal-Mart (#22) and Target (#26). Non-commerce sites at the top of the heap include the Wikimedia constellation (#9), Facebook (#10), Craigslist (#18), Disney Online (#25), and ESPN (#50).