Hitwise top 50 shows travel winners and losers

Thomas Cook and First Choice were among the biggest climbers in the latest IMRG-Hitwise Hot Shops List.

Based on their online traffic figures in July, Thomas Cook moved up 14 positions to 16 in the list, while First Choice climbed 13 spots to 37.

Meanwhile, Thomson and easyJet joined the top 10 for the first time, coming in at number eight and number 10 respectively.

But Hitwise director of research, Robin Goad, warned that traffic to travel websites is declining overall.

“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 three leading three brands in the list retained their dominance of the UK online shopping scene.

Amazon.co.uk (1), Argos (2), and Play (3) each keep their regular spots, as did Marks and Spencer (6).

But Amazon.com (5) fell one place, Tesco (7) dropped two places, while Expedia (9) slid one place too.

Here is the latest IMRG-Hitwise Hot Shops List, based on July figures:

1 Amazon UK www.amazon.co.uk
2 Argos www.argos.co.uk
3 Play.com www.play.com
4 Next www.next.co.uk
5 Amazon.com www.amazon.com
6 Marks & Spencer www.marksandspencer.com
7 Tesco.com www.tesco.com
8 Thomson Holidays www.thomson.co.uk
9 Expedia.co.uk www.expedia.co.uk
10 easyJet www.easyjet.co.uk
11 Apple Computer www.apple.com
12 Ryanair www.ryanair.com
13 ASOS www.asos.com
14 Tesco Direct www.direct.tesco.com
15 lastminute.com www.lastminute.com
16 Thomas Cook www.thomascook.com
17 B&Q www.diy.com
18 John Lewis www.johnlewis.com
19 Debenhams www.debenhams.com
20 Littlewoods www.littlewoods.com
21 HMV.co.uk www.hmv.co.uk
22 River Island www.riverisland.com
23 Currys www.currys.co.uk
24 Ticketmaster UK www.ticketmaster.co.uk
25 Topshop www.topshop.co.uk
26 Odeon Cinemas www.odeon.co.uk
27 New Look www.newlook.co.uk
28 LOVEFiLM www.lovefilm.com
29 O2 Shop www.shop.o2.co.uk
30 Cineworld Cinemas www.cineworld.co.uk
31 TravelRepublic.co.uk www.travelrepublic.co.uk
32 Comet UK www.comet.co.uk
33 Vue Entertainment www.myvue.com
34 The TrainLine www.thetrainline.com
35 British Airways www.britishairways.com
36 ASDA www.asda.co.uk
37 First Choice www.firstchoice.co.uk
38 Dell EMEA www.euro.dell.com
39 Halfords www.halfords.com
40 Screwfix Direct www.screwfix.com
41 PC World www.pcworld.co.uk
42 GAME www.shop.game.net
43 IKEA www.ikea.com
44 Travelodge UK www.travelodge.co.uk
45 Homebase www.homebase.co.uk
46 Sainsbury’s www.sainsburys.com
47 Boots www.boots.com
48 ASDA Direct direct.asda.com
49 The Orange Shop www.shop.orange.co.uk
50 QVCUK.com www.qvcuk.com

By Bev Fearis