Citi analysis flags mixed web traffic trends across tech and e-commerce

Citi analysts released an internet traffic trends report covering August data, analyzing website activity via SimilarWeb and app usage via Sensor Tower, in partnership with Citi's Research Innovation Lab.

On search, Google's global search share declined approximately 30 basis points month-over-month to 91.0% in August, and U.S. search share fell roughly 60 basis points to 86.0%, though both metrics remained positive year-over-year. Chrome's global browser share rose 100 basis points month-over-month to 69.3%.

In social media, Instagram's U.S. time spent per daily active user rose 13% year-over-year to 60 minutes in August. Meta accounts for five of the top 25 U.S. app downloads. Threads U.S. monthly active users grew 12% year-over-year to 67 million, while Facebook U.S. MAUs declined 6% year-over-year.

In e-commerce, Amazon U.S. web traffic rose 1% year-over-year in August, reversing a 5% decline in July. Wayfair U.S. web traffic grew 46% year-over-year, up from 35% in July. Carvana U.S. web visits rose 45% year-over-year.

DoorDash U.S. app MAUs grew 11% year-over-year in August to an average of 64 million. Instacart U.S. MAUs declined 19% year-over-year.

In online dating, Tinder U.S. MAUs returned to positive growth in August at 1% year-over-year, the first positive month since August 2021. Hinge worldwide MAU growth accelerated to 32% year-over-year.

Among AI apps, ChatGPT maintained the top downloaded app position for 20 consecutive months through August. Meta's Muse app, launched September 8, accumulated 1.4 million U.S. downloads in its first 10 days. Google's Gemini app reached 587 million MAUs, according to Sensor Tower data.

Citi's top picks listed in the report include Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Meta (NASDAQ: META), Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), DoorDash (NYSE: DASH), Carvana (NYSE: CVNA), and Reddit (NYSE: RDDT).

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