According to UKOM data recently released by comScore MMX, the UK’s desktop-only online population continued to steady at 45.1 million unique visitors in the month of May.
While there has been little change in the past few months, the figure represents the highest amount of desktop-only visitors since May 2014, when it peaked at an online population of 45.3 million people.
May 2015 saw the online population in a 51:49 gender divide with men making up 23 million visitors and women accounting for 22.1 million of all UK users.
comScore subscribers can see further breakdowns in the Monthly online users by demographic report.
Top Web Properties
Google remained the dominant brand for UK online users in May 2015, with Google Sites attracting 39.4 million desktop users, translating to a minute month on month increase of 115,000 people.
The online property, which includes its various search sub channels, boasted an 87% reach across all those accessing the net through their desktop computer.
Trailing behind, with over 7.5 million fewer visitors, was Microsoft Sites, a property made up of everything from Bing to Outlook.com and Skype. In total, 31.7 million visitors accessed the bevy of Microsoft-owned destinations, translating to a 70.3% share.
Both BBC Sites and Mode Media witnessed the biggest month on month percentage increase, growing by 7.3% each May. BBC Sites, a global network of entertainment and educational channels, brought in 24.8 million visitors, while Mode Media, a company which owns many female-focused sites, was visited by 12.2 million people.
| UK Rank | Site | May 15 (000s) | Apr 15 (000s) | Change (000s) | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Google Sites | 39,374 | 39,259 | 115 | 0.3 |
| 5 | Microsoft Sites | 31,734 | 31,290 | 444 | 1.4 |
| 6 | 30,146 | 30,463 | -317 | -1.0 | |
| 9 | RUBICONPROJECT.COM | 29,352 | 28,153 | 1,199 | 4.3 |
| 11 | BBC Sites | 24,817 | 23,130 | 1,687 | 7.3 |
| 13 | Amazon Sites | 23,424 | 22,577 | 847 | 3.8 |
| 15 | Yahoo Sites | 21,797 | 22,431 | -634 | -2.8 |
| 16 | eBay | 21,756 | 20,780 | 976 | 4.7 |
| 26 | Wikimedia Foundation Sites | 17,605 | 16,604 | 1,001 | 6.0 |
| 39 | Mode Media | 12,196 | 11,365 | 831 | 7.3 |
comScore MMX (desktop only) approved by UKOM
Top Social Media Properties
Unsurprisingly, Facebook remained the top social media property, with channels and media titles such as WhatsApp, Messenger.com and Instagram.com helping the number one social network secure 30.1 million visitors in May.
Month on month, Facebook actually fell by a small -1% (down by 317,000 visitors) after celebrating a big month in April which brought in 30.5 million desktop users, resulting in a 67% reach.
Coming in second place – but a lot further behind – was microblogging site Twitter.com which had 20.5 million fewer visitors than Facebook in May. While Facebook was the sixth overall most popular property on the web, Twitter.com only ranked 51st, thanks to the 9.7 million users who visited the site.
Quiz creating site Playbuzz.com witnessed the largest percentage change in May, up by 533,000 visitors which translates to a 33% jump.
| UK Rank | Site | May 15 (000s) | Apr 15 (000s) | Change (000s) | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 30,146 | 30,463 | -317 | -1.0 | |
| 51 | TWITTER.COM | 9,671 | 9,124 | 547 | 6.0 |
| 68 | 8,438 | 8,926 | -488 | -5.5 | |
| 155 | PINTEREST.COM | 4,706 | 4,698 | 8 | 0.2 |
| 163 | WORDPRESS.COM | 4,496 | 4,493 | 3 | 0.1 |
| 371 | IMGUR.COM | 2,414 | 2,231 | 183 | 8.2 |
| 375 | STACKEXCHANGE.COM | 2,398 | 2,318 | 80 | 3.5 |
| 392 | Gawker Media | 2,300 | 2,309 | -9 | -0.4 |
| 430 | PLAYBUZZ.COM | 2,131 | 1,598 | 533 | 33.4 |
| 490 | Technorati Media | 1,891 | 1,708 | 183 | 10.7 |
comScore MMX (desktop only) approved by UKOM
Top Retails Sites
May’s top ten retail sites, including the main property’s subgroups and channels, saw three entries from Amazon, with the main property attracting 23.4 million visitors over the month, helping it remain the UK’s favourite online retailer.
While not as popular overall, digital auction brand eBay managed to better its main competitor by having four entries in the top ten, with the top level property netting 21.8 million users and a 48% active reach.
Home Retail Group, the parent company of Argos and Homebase.co.uk, grew its user base to a little over 9 million, while Argos itself secured 8.1 million visitors throughout the month.
Most impressively though, all of the top ten retail sites experienced a surge of popularity in May, with Tesco Stores increasing its traffic by 9%, resulting in a total of 8.7 million visitors.
| UK Rank | Site | May 15 (000s) | Apr 15 (000s) | Change (000s) | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Amazon Sites (P) | 23,424 | 22,577 | 847 | 3.8 |
| 16 | eBay (P) | 21,756 | 20,780 | 976 | 4.7 |
| 17 | Amazon (M) | 21,387 | 20,298 | 1,089 | 5.4 |
| 18 | AMAZON.CO.UK (C) | 20,366 | 19,342 | 1,024 | 5.3 |
| 22 | eBay Sites (M) | 19,680 | 18,831 | 849 | 4.5 |
| 23 | eBay UK (C) | 19,076 | 18,287 | 789 | 4.3 |
| 24 | EBAY.CO.UK (SC) | 19,049 | 18,238 | 811 | 4.4 |
| 62 | Home Retail Group | 9,089 | 8,614 | 475 | 5.5 |
| 65 | Tesco Stores (P) | 8,711 | 7,994 | 717 | 9.0 |
| 72 | Argos (M) | 8,129 | 7,827 | 302 | 3.9 |
comScore MMX (desktop only) approved by UKOM
Note: [P] Property – [M] Media Title – [C] Channel – [SC] Subchannel – [G] Group – [SG] Subgroup
Further breakdowns and reports can found in Mediatel’s Online database.
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