Similarweb Reveals 100 Digital Businesses That Achieved Outstanding Growth in 2023

Rhea-AI Summary

Similarweb (SMWB) released its annual ranking of the fastest growing digital businesses, the Digital 100, covering 10 categories in the US and other countries. Winners achieved significant online growth, with top performers like Vivaia (+655%) and parentztalk.com (+2,679%). Similarweb CEO Or Offer emphasized the potential for tremendous growth in highly competitive markets.

Insights

Market Research Analyst

The release of the Digital 100 by Similarweb provides a valuable snapshot of the digital landscape and identifies key trends in consumer behavior and business growth online. The report's focus on the fastest growing web businesses across various categories offers insights into market dynamics and consumer preferences. For instance, the significant growth in the News and Media category suggests a shift in content consumption patterns, potentially driven by current events or viral topics.

Furthermore, the standout growth of companies like Elorea and Vivaia indicates a rising consumer interest in niche markets such as Korean Beauty and sustainable fashion. This data can guide businesses in these sectors to strategize on market entry or expansion. It is also indicative of the potential for digital-first business models to disrupt traditional retail landscapes. Brands that leverage online platforms effectively can achieve rapid growth even in competitive markets, as evidenced by the success stories highlighted in the Digital 100.

Analyzing the demographics of the audience, particularly the influence of Gen Z consumers, can inform marketing strategies and product development. Companies that understand and cater to the preferences of younger audiences can gain a competitive advantage, as they are a key demographic driving online trends.

Financial Analyst

The Digital 100 rankings have implications for investors looking at the digital economy and e-commerce sectors. High growth percentages, such as those seen in the report, often translate to increased revenue potential and can be a leading indicator of a company's future financial performance. The growth of online retailers and direct-to-consumer brands, such as Stater Bros. and Vivaia, suggests a robust consumer demand and a successful adaptation to the digital marketplace.

Investors should note that while high traffic growth is a positive sign, it must be evaluated in conjunction with other financial metrics to assess a company's overall health and profitability. Additionally, companies that demonstrate the ability to thrive in challenging markets, like consumer electronics, may possess strategic advantages or innovative business models that could lead to long-term success and are worth monitoring for investment opportunities.

It's important to consider the scalability of the businesses featured in the Digital 100. As these companies grow, they may face increased competition, logistical challenges and the need to maintain a high level of innovation to sustain their growth trajectories. Investors should weigh these factors when considering the long-term potential of these high-growth digital businesses.

E-commerce Specialist

The exceptional growth rates highlighted in the Digital 100 report underscore the importance of e-commerce and digital strategy in today's retail environment. The success of direct-to-consumer brands like Elorea and Vivaia reflects a broader trend towards personalized shopping experiences and niche targeting. The ability to directly engage with consumers online allows these brands to build strong customer relationships and collect valuable data to further refine their marketing and product offerings.

From an operational perspective, the scalability of e-commerce platforms is critical. Companies experiencing rapid growth must ensure that their supply chain and customer service operations can keep pace with increased demand. This involves investment in technology, logistics and potentially, a global distribution network to maintain customer satisfaction and retention.

The report also highlights the importance of digital marketing strategies, particularly in reaching and engaging Gen Z audiences. These consumers are digital natives who respond to authentic branding and social media engagement. Companies that can effectively tap into this demographic through innovative marketing campaigns and social media influencers are likely to see continued growth in their online traffic and sales.

The Digital 100 is Similarweb’s exclusive annual ranking of the 10 fastest growing web businesses in 10 categories, including publishers, retailers, and direct to consumer manufacturer websites in the US. Rankings for the United Kingdom, France, Germany , India, Japan, Brazil, and Australia also unveiled today

TEL AVIV, Israel & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Similarweb (NYSE: SMWB) today released its annual ranking of the fastest growing digital businesses, the Digital 100.

See similarweb.com/corp/digital-100/ for complete details. The summary below is based on an analysis of the US market, but today Similarweb also published rankings for the United Kingdom, France (in French and English), Germany (in German and English), India, Japan, Brazil, and Australia.

Each of the winners was already operating a substantial online business in 2022, but significantly increased its reach in 2023. They were ranked by percentage increase from 2022 to 2023. Our analysts particularly sought out consumer brands transacting business online. The report covers 10 key categories: Apparel & Accessories, Automotive, Beauty & Personal Care, Consumer Electronics, Food & Drinks, Home & Garden, News & Media, Personal Finance, Pet Care, and Travel & Tourism.

Some of the biggest increases (6 of the top 10) were in News and Media, where a hot topic or a strong referral source can produce dramatic growth (+2,679% year-over-year for the parenting blog parentztalk.com). But we also saw huge growth for online retailers and direct to consumer sellers like the Korean Beauty and Cosmetics brand Elorea (+1,156% year-over-year for elorea.com), online grocer Stater Bros. (+854% for shop.staterbros.com), consumer bank BMO, (+670% for bmo.com), and women’s footwear brand Vivaia (+655% for vivaia.com).

We recognized brands demonstrating success in tougher markets like consumer electronics, where digital businesses averaged 4% growth but mobile game console maker Backbone stood out with playbackbone.com up 264%.

“The Digital 100 is our annual celebration of business success online, highlighting publishers and sellers who have achieved huge increases in their online audience within a single year,” Similarweb CEO Or Offer said. “Similarweb’s mission is to provide comprehensive visibility into web, search, app, and other measures of digital markets, allowing companies to benchmark their own performance and discover opportunities to improve their performance versus the competition. The Digital 100 companies show that tremendous growth is possible, even in highly competitive markets – the kind of success all companies should aspire to.”

Here are the category winners, determined by percentage increase for their average monthly traffic in 2023, compared with 2022.

Apparel & Accessories Winner: Vivaia (vivaia.com) + 655%

Vivaia is best known for women’s footwear.

Most domains that placed in the top 10 owed their success to Gen Z (18-24 year old) shoppers, who made up 27% of their audience on average. Vivaia was actually an exception, drawing about 12% of its audience from the younger demographic.

Automotive winner: CarEdge (caredge.com) + 357%

CarEdge is a used car platform. The Automotive industry is one of the industries where online shopping has become more important, post-pandemic. Rising inflation and the need to budget may also be driving more consumers to buy used or seek to fix their vehicles. For example, carmechanic.expert, which lets members chat with mechanics for advice on do-it-yourself repairs for $5 per month, increased traffic 95%.

Beauty & Personal Care winner: Elorea (elorea.com) + 1,156%

Elorea is a Korean fragrance brand that sells direct-to-consumer.

While consumers are pursuing cost-saving strategies with subscription models and by buying dupes instead of name brands, at the same time Elorea’s success demonstrates the power of a compelling luxury brand.

Consumer Electronics winner: Backbone (playbackbone.com) + 264%

Backbone sells a mobile-friendly game controller and was joined by JSAUX (jsaux.com, up 51%) in winning the love of gamers. Also popular were Internet of Things gadgets for convenience (alarm clock/sleep aid hatch.co up 81.5% and smart lights maker govee.com up 70%) and security (ring.com up 50% and myq.com up 44%). Govee also made our Digital 100 ranking last year.

Food & Drinks winner: Stater Bros. Markets (shop.staterbros.com) + 854%

Stater Bros. is an online supermarket. Many of the growing domains in this category reflect consumer desire for better health and convenience, with artisan products on the rise. Most cover a very specific segment, whether it’s premium snacks (oatsovernight.com, pretzel.com) or sweets (licorice.com and themashmallow.co). This niche positioning allowed them to grow much faster than the industry average (+4% YoY in 2023).

Home and Garden winner: Cosori (cosori.com) + 568%

Led by air fryer sales, Cosori and Emeril Everyday (emerileveryday.com, up 192%) reflect a trend toward consumers seeking out healthier choices. Comfort (sienasleep.com, up 207%, and pigletinbed.com, up 124%) and convenience (insinkerator.com, up 108%) were also big trends.

News & Media winner: Parentz Talk (parentztalk.com) + 2,679%

This was the second year in a row that a parenting blog zoomed to the top of the list – last year it was Forever Mom, propelled by a surge of referrals. This year, a couple of “alternative media'' sites, resistthemainstream.com, up 758%, and tuckercarlson.com, up 536%, also made a significant impact. Denver Gazette (denvergazette.com, up 536%) made our list for the second year in a row.

Personal Finance winner: BMO (bmo.com) + 670%

Consumer bank BMO, which recently completed its acquisition of Bank of the West, was our winner. Meanwhile, the October 2023 end of a grace period for student loans led a traffic surge to Ed Financial (edfinancial.com), with 4.8M visits that month, 12 times more than in January 2023 – leading to a 300% traffic increase for the year. Consumers flocked to short term loan providers like starloan.app, up 294%, and services like Pogo (joinpogo.com), which offers cash back bonuses to consumers who agree to share their personal financial data.

Pet Care winner: Greenies (greenies.com) + 492%

Greenies succeeded with healthy treats for dogs and cats and as part of a broader trend toward customized products. As with personalization for people, customization of products and services to a specific pet has the power to drive sales, as do subscription models (see below). Much as with self care, pet care is increasingly driven by the search for healthy alternatives. Greenies and the subscription dog food brand sundaysfordogs.com, up 161%, are examples.

Travel & Tourism winner: Japan Rail Pass (jrailpass.com) + 239%.

Together with #5 ranked japanwondertravel.com, up 203%, Japan Rail Pass reflects the rising popularity of Japan as a destination for American travelers, currently the fastest-growing destination for Gen Z and Millennials, according to a study by American Express.

A common theme: subscription models keep growing

One theme we noticed in several categories was the increased popularity of subscription models for products consumers want access to on a continuing basis, including Agency Skin Care (withagency.com, +401%) in Beauty & Personal Care, Wildgrain, Firstleaf and Oats Overnight in Food & Drink, and Greenies, Sundays for Dogs, Nutro, and Wuffes in Pet Care.

This can be seen as an extension of the “everything as a service” internet model businesses have been promoting for years now, but in many cases it’s proving to match consumer needs.

“In addition to convenience, these offerings help consumers budget for their online purchases, while not having to compromise on the quality of the products purchased,” said Ines Durand, Senior Insights Manager at Similarweb and lead analyst for the Digital 100 project. Meanwhile, subscription services like access to chatting with a mechanic (mechanic.expert) or a veterinarian (askaveterinarianonline.com) help consumers hold down the cost of auto repairs and pet health care, respectively, she said.

For more details, see the complete report for the US at similarweb.com/corp/digital-100/.

Additional analysis, including articles to follow in the coming weeks, will be published to similarweb.com/blog/insights/ – the Similarweb Insights News team blog.

Digital 100 Methodology

Building on Similarweb’s methodology for creating a comprehensive model of the digital world, the Digital 100 project reveals the fastest-growing web domains from pre-defined industry categories. Growth is measured as a percentage increase in average monthly traffic volume from 2022 to 2023 based on Similarweb’s estimated metrics. To qualify for inclusion, each domain had to meet a minimum average monthly traffic in both years. For the US, the minimum was 100,000 monthly visits in 2023 and 50,000 in 2022. A lower threshold was used for specific categories in other countries. Similarweb analysts manually filter the results to validate each business and discover the most meaningful examples of digital business growth.

About Similarweb

Similarweb powers businesses to win their market with leading Digital Data. Similarweb reveals what is happening online and provides businesses with the essential digital data & analytics needed to build strategy, optimize customer acquisition and increase monetization. We empower our users to be the first to discover and capture the best business opportunities and stay alert to react instantly to emerging threats to their business. Similarweb products are easy to use and integrated into users’ workflow, powered by advanced technology, and based on comprehensive digital data.

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Disclaimer: All names, brands, trademarks, and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The data, reports, and other materials provided or made available by Similarweb consist of or include estimated metrics and digital insights generated by Similarweb using its proprietary algorithms, based on information collected by Similarweb from multiple sources using its advanced data methodologies. Similarweb shall not be responsible for the accuracy of such data, reports, and materials and shall have no liability for any decision by any third party based in whole or in part on such data, reports, and materials.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240110765343/en/

Press:

David F. Carr

Similarweb

david.carr@similarweb.com

Investors:

Raymond “RJ” Jones

Similarweb

raymond.jones@similarweb.com

Source: Similarweb

FAQ

What is the Digital 100?

The Digital 100 is Similarweb's exclusive annual ranking of the 10 fastest growing web businesses in 10 categories, including publishers, retailers, and direct to consumer manufacturer websites in the US and other countries.

What is the ticker symbol for Similarweb?

The ticker symbol for Similarweb is SMWB.

Who are the category winners in the Digital 100?

The category winners include Vivaia (+655%) for Apparel & Accessories and parentztalk.com (+2,679%) for News & Media, among others.

What is the mission of Similarweb?

Similarweb's mission is to provide comprehensive visibility into web, search, app, and other measures of digital markets, allowing companies to benchmark their own performance and discover opportunities to improve their performance versus the competition.

What did Similarweb CEO Or Offer emphasize about the Digital 100?

Similarweb CEO Or Offer emphasized the potential for tremendous growth in highly competitive markets, highlighting the success achieved by the Digital 100 companies.