What is surprising about the numbers from online research firm Experian Hitwise is that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) did not do nearly as well, a sign that bricks-and-mortar companies may have an advantage over online stores because of their decades-old brands. Visits to Amazon.com were only .87% of total visits and that number was off 44% from the week before.
The numbers for Wal-Mart are not the only ones that support the theory that retailers with stores do well online. The percentage of shoppers going to the sites for Target (NYSE:TGT), Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD), Toys ‘R’ Us, and K-Mart were each between 2% or 4% of the total. Wal-Mart showed its strength by having a larger percent increase from the week before compared to any of its competition.’
There is a theory that Amazon, eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY), and other online-only e-commerce business will eventually ruin the businesses of the old store-based companies. The opposite may be true. Branding can count for a great deal when it comes to sustaining a business.
Douglas A. McIntyre