The Australian Retailers’ Association recently stated that post-Christmas sales are running according to plan, although shares in retailers such as Billabong, JB Hi-Fi and Kathmandu have been slashed in light of lacklustre holiday sales. So who had the most success over the holiday period, and who lost market share?

Running a fast-movers report on the Experian Hitwise Shopping and Classifieds parent category for the week ending 31st December, I’d expected to see visits to the bigger retailers gain the most market share, especially Myer, who brought forward their Boxing Day sale to Christmas Eve.

Interestingly, while Myer and David Jones did gain market share during the week, the real winners were the music and electronics vendors – JB Hi-Fi, and Apple dominated the top 10 fastest movers. Amazon, Dick Smith and Harvey Norman also did exceedingly well.

Who lost out? It was the daily deal sites that suffered most – ScoopOn, Groupon Australia and Cudo all lost market share. eBay Australia also saw a 1.73% decrease in its market share within the category.

Let’s not forget – market share and total visits provide different kinds of insights. eBay Australia receives six times more traffic than Amazon, which is the highest ranking international Shopping and Classifieds site. But the increase in total visits to sites likes JB Hi-Fi Australia and Harvey Norman shows that there are still, and will always be, opportunities for local retailers.

Many clients use Hitwise to identify what channels worked best for their competitors throughout key periods of the year. They use the data to identify what products were most successful and what specials resonated most with their target audience. If you’re interested in finding out more, please contact us .