Thompson Holidays and easyJet move into IMRG-Hitwise’s top 50 e-tailers

Thompson Holidays and easyJet have made their entry in the top 10 standing in the IMRG-Hitwise Hot Shops List of the top 50 UK e-retailers, a key indicator of online merchant performance.

The list saw Thomas Cook rise 14 positions to 16th  place this year, while both Thompson Holidays (8th) and easyJet (10th) entered the top 10. Others in the top 20 included Expedia.co.uk (9th), Ryanair (12th) and lastminute.com (15th).

Hitwise’s director of research, Robin Goad, said that most of the travel companies moved up the rankings this quarter, but this seasonal increase masks an annual decline in traffic to most of the sites. 

He said the notable exception was The Train line, which is benefiting from the boom in domestic travel and `staycations’.

The list is published quarterly and tracks popularity, as indicated by visits, of those selling goods and services within the IMRG Capgemini Index Classification. This list is based on July 2009 data.

Amazon, Argos and Play.com retained their positions as the top three online retail sites.