Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
Email Alert

Internet Daily 
for Friday, December 21, 2001
by Frank Barnako CBS MarketWatch.com


Bargain hunters drive online sales

A sharp and unexpected rush to online shopping sites has 
occurred, according to Jupiter Media Metrix. The number of 
visitors to sites surveyed by the company last week, 52.3 
million, was 55% greater than the number last year, said Charles 
Buchwalter of Jupiter. By contrast, year-over-year growth rates 
declined each week last year as the holiday neared. That has not 
been the case this year. "That translates into a holiday season 
where the majority of online shopping activity occurs closer to 
Christmas," he said. "Many consumers waited until late in the 
holiday season to make their gift purchases, and many were 
searching for late-season discounts," said Jared Blank, another 
Jupiter Research analyst. He also said consumers have increased 
confidence about online sites' ability to deliver merchandise 
quickly.

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Web draws "Spiderman" fans

On the heels of this week's report that half of all online 
shopping occurs at work, office PCs are also turning out to be 
terrific movie preview theaters. Almost a million office workers 
were drawn to Apple Computer's movie preview Web site last week 
where they could see the trailer to "Spiderman." "By releasing 
trailers on the Web, movie studios can reach a broader audience, 
said Jarvis Mak, a senior analyst at NielsenNetratings, Reuters 
reported.

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Dear Abby gets wired

The U.S. military has adapted the annual Dear Abby season's 
greetings messages service for members of the U.S. military from 
snail mail to email. OperationDearAbby.net has changed from a 
postal service, hobbled several weeks ago by the anthrax scare, 
into an electronic bulletin board. More than a million messages 
have already been handled, according to Reuters.

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Orbitz under microscope, again

The Department of Transportation has been ordered to conduct 
another investigation of Orbitz, the online travel service 
backed by five major airlines. The probe is required by the 
transportation spending bill approved recently by Congress. The 
law's language suggests Congress is concerned that the airlines' 
service may reduce competition for ticket sales. A spokeswoman 
for Orbitz told ZDNet news that her company is angry. "It's 
outrageous that our competition would call in a political favor 
with the goal of harassing a competitor," said Carol Jousaitis. 
Several federal investigations of Orbitz have been conducted 
previously, she said.

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MSN Asia beefs up sales 

Microsoft Corp.'s MSN in Asia unit has added 10 advertising 
sales people in the past six months, according to The Wall 
Street Journal. The unit's regional sales manager, Robin Fern, 
indicated MSN is pitching Old Economy companies including 
consumer products manufacturers and financial institutions.

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