Even on holiday the Brits consume online media

Traditionally summer holidays have meant a decline in the consumption of media for the British public, but this year marked a change in that tradition. According to a new report from comScore the UK online audience reached its highest point ever in July with more than 31 million unique users.

by Kristina Knight

Google was the most visited site with more than 28 million users while Microsoft sites ranked second with just under 27 million users. Meanwhile online e-tailers Amazon.com and ebay.com reached 12.5 million and 22.1 million users respectively.

During the vacation season, users also logged on to movie ticketing sites. The UK site Odeon.co.uk was the top gaining website in the July with 2.6 million users, a 49% increase. UK users were also keen on getting last minute holiday deals. Online holiday booking agents Lastminute.com saw a 30% increase in use, Cheap Flights websites saw a 22% increase as did Disney Online.

Bob Ivins, EVP of International Markets at comScore, said, “With the weather in the UK being so poor this summer it’s clear that – for domestic recreation activities at least – people have been surfing the Internet for indoor entertainment.”

That interest in local fun helped boost traffic to the Odeon theater sites as well as traffic to some etailers.