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Online Holiday Retail Traffic Sees 17 Percent Growth

Hitwise releases U.S. Holiday 2007 Recap Report

NEW YORK, NY- January 22, 2008 - Despite looming fears about the economy, online traffic to retail websites grew during the 2007 holiday season, Hitwise reported today. The total market share of U.S. visits to the Hitwise Retail Index increased 17 percent between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day in 2007 compared to 2006, according to findings included in the Hitwise U.S. Holiday 2007 Retail Recap Report.

The report also examines the online activity on specific days, such as Thanksgiving and Black Friday, where the highest market share of U.S. visits to the Hitwise Retail Index occurred. In 2007, online traffic to retail websites increased by 20 percent on Thanksgiving Day and 16 percent on Black Friday as compared to 2006. This represents a holiday retail traffic pattern demonstrated over the past four years.

"Each year the holiday shopping season represents an important customer acquisition opportunity for the majority of retailers, both online and off," said Heather Dougherty, research director, Hitwise. "The double-digit growth rates in online traffic during the holidays have continued to garner significant attention from retailers, driving marketing dollars to the channel. Competitive intelligence becomes increasingly important during this critical period to understand what strategies have worked in the past."

The Hitwise Retail Recap Report also reveals 2007 highlights and tips for 2008, including:

• Trends in visits to the Hitwise Retail Index and categories like Black Friday websites
• The most popular product and gift card searches
• The top sources of traffic to retail sites, including Social Networking sites
• Tips for preparing for next season, like:
• Predictions for Cyber Monday
• Insights into Black Friday and Comparison Shopping sites

To download a copy of the Hitwise U.S. Holiday Retail Recap Research report please visit:   http://www.hitwise.com/registration-page/holiday-retail-recap-us.php

About Hitwise

Hitwise is the leading online competitive intelligence service. Only Hitwise provides its 1,400 clients around the world with daily insights on how their customers interact with a broad range of competitive websites, and how their competitors use different tactics to attract online customers.

Since 1997, Hitwise has pioneered a unique, network-based approach to Internet measurement. Through relationships with ISPs around the world, Hitwise’s patented methodology anonymously captures the online usage, search and conversion behavior of 25 million Internet users. This unprecedented volume of Internet usage data is seamlessly integrated into an easy to use, web-based service, designed to help marketers better plan, implement and report on a range of online marketing programs.

Hitwise, a subsidiary of Experian (FTS: EXPN) www.experiangroup.com operates in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore. More information about Hitwise is available at www.hitwise.com.

For up to date analysis of online trends, please visit the Hitwise Intelligence-Analyst Weblogs at http://weblogs.hitwise.com and the Hitwise Data Center at www.hitwise.com/datacenter.