Hitwise has just released their 2007 holiday report. Heather Dougherty, Research Director at Hitwise and author of the report does a great job covering the retail trends, traffic sources, uses of Social Networking/Email/Search, and the key findings. Below is a summary of the report. Download your copy here.

• Strong overall traffic growth despite economic fears – The total market share of visits to the Hitwise Retail Index increased by 17% between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
• Shoppers flocked online on Thanksgiving Day to check out online-only specials and Black Friday promotions – The largest market share of visits to the Hitwise Retail Index occurred on Thanksgiving Day this year, an increase of 20 percent compared to 2006. This is the fourth year in a row that traffic has peaked on Thanksgiving Day, making it the busiest day online in terms of market share of visits during the holiday shopping season.
• Promotions drive season’s highest growth in market share on Cyber Monday – The Hitwise Retail Index comprising the top 100 retail websites received 5.07 percent of all US visits on November26, 2007, representing an increase of 26 percent versus November 27, 2006, with 4.02 percent of visits.
• Search and cross-shopping drive the majority of referrals – Search engines and other retail websites topped the list of traffic sources to the Hitwise Retail Index and together contributed 57% of upstream traffic in December 2007. Email also remained a key communication tool to help drive customers to retail websites.
• Traffic to comparison shopping engines (CSEs) increased during the 2007 holiday season – The comparison shopping engines experienced strong growth during the holiday season, as price conscious shoppers research holiday purchases. The market share of visits was 48% higher in December 2007 than last year.
• Retailer participation helped drive additional consumer interest for Black Friday ad websites – Traffic to Black Friday websites increased by 51% for the week ending November 24, 2007 compared to the same week in 2006 as a result of broader consumer awareness and a greater array of content from retailers.
• Nintendo Wii and Uggs dominate product searches – Nintendo Wii and Ugg boots were consistently the top searches among products during this holiday season. Interest in the Nintendo Wii remained strong leading up to the Christmas holiday even as retailers ran out of stock.
• Shoppers sought gift cards from credit card issuers – Visa and American Express gift cards were the most popular searches for ‘gift cards’ during much of December. Price-conscious consumers also looked for free and discounted gift cards to stretch holiday budgets.