WebProNews

The droves of Black Friday shoppers are just warming up. Last week, traffic to websites specifically dedicated to America's Other Holiday was up 145 percent, dominated by new visitors and young women.

Hitwise reports that for the week ending November 17, 2007, visitors to Black Friday websites like bfads.net and BlackFridayAds.com were mostly (61%) women aged 25-34. Visitors in that age group were the highest in general, comprising 37 percent overall.

What's also interesting is that these sites are attracting a majority of new users rather than return users. Overall, 61 percent of the traffic going to these sites were first-time visitors. BlackFridayAds.com received the highest number of new visitors with 73 percent, and BlackFriday.GottaDeal.com enjoyed the most return traffic with over 47 percent.

“As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, consumers are taking advantage of the information available on Black Friday websites to prepare shopping lists before setting their alarms to take advantage of the deals this weekend,” said Heather Dougherty, director of research at Hitwise.

“Retailers should monitor the Black Friday websites to see which promotions are driving discussion and excitement among shoppers to make sure that they have those products prominently placed on their websites and in stores.”

Hitwise also reveals that the most-searched-for products this year look a lot like the most-search-for-products last year. Shoppers this season are still hunting for iPods and Nintendo Wiis first and foremost.