To coincide with the third anniversary of The IMRG/Hitwise Hot Shops List, the first annual top 100 list has been announced.
Key findings from the rankings include:
- Amazon retains the list’s top spot
- Six of the original May 2006 top ten brands are still in the top ten
- Four of the top ten have physical stores, up from three
- 28 have high street stores, up from 23 in 2006
At number one, Amazon’s dominance of the Hot Shops List has remained unchallenged since the List was first published, say Hitwise. Argos has moved into second place this time, its highest May ranking to date, up from fifth last May and third in May 2007 and 2006, although it has been at number two in other quarters in the past.
Play.com (At 3 in the latest list/5 in the first Hot Shops List) held on to the third position it enjoyed in last May. Amazon.com (4/6), at 4, pushed Tesco.com (5/4) into its lowest ranking so far, down to number 5.
Six of the original top ten retain their places: Amazon UK (1/1), Argos (2/3), Play.com (3/5), Amazon.com (4/6), Tesco.com (5/4),Expedia.co.uk (8/7). Joining them this May are Marks & Spencer (6/23) Epson UK (7/New), Next (9/14) and Asos (10/50).
Only four of the top ten retailers have physical stores, down from five in May 2008. 28 of the fifty Hot Shops have high street stores, up from 23 in 2006.
Leading the fastest climbers are Asos (10/50), Marks & Spencer (6/23) and Epson UK, (7/New) which did not feature in the top 50 in May 2006. In addition, B&Q has moved to 16 from 24, HMV.com is at 18, up from 32, and Littlewoods has climbed to 19 from 40.
Clothing is the fastest growing online shopping sector, with eight specialist retailers on the List including two of the biggest risers, Marks & Spencer (6/23) and Asos (10/50), plus three new-to-the-List high street brands — Topshop (21/New), River Island (24/New) and New Look (40/New).
The seventeen newcomers to the List since May 2006 are Epson UK (7), Tesco Direct (15), Sainsbury’s (20), Topshop (21), River Island (24), Ebuyer (25), LoveFilm (32), Game (36), Homebase (37), Odeon Cinemas (39), New Look (40), The TrainLine (41), Cineworld Cinemas (42), Vue Entertainment (44), Ikea (46), Boots (48) and Halfords (49).
“Looking back over three years of the IMRG-Hitwise Hot Shops List, perhaps the most surprising thing is how stable the top 50 has been,” says Hitwise’s director of research, Robin Goad. “33 of the retailers in this quarter’s top 50 appeared in the list three years ago, nicely illustrating the staying power of top brands. It is also interesting to note that, of the 17 companies that weren’t on the list three years ago but are now, the majority are established high street names.”
Readers can download the full Hot Shop 100 List from Hitwise’s website (registration required).
