PC Data Launches Web Monitoring Service

Reston, VA-based PC Data launched @PCData, a Web audience measurement tool that tracks the online habits of 24,000 people in the U.S. and Canada.

PC Data said it expects that the number of participants will exceed 100,000 by fall. All data is available weekly, and will be updated on a daily basis beginning in May, the company said.

PC Data recruits panel through television and online advertising and through distribution of the @PCData tracking software at retail stores. The sample is then weighted to mirror the Web population as portrayed in the most current random digit dial Web population studies, the company said.

“This is just a beginning,” said PC Data President Ann Stephens. “PC Data will soon track Web usage in corporations and schools, as well as track Web behavior outside of North America. We will also differentiate AOL users vs. those who go directly to the Web.”

Priced at $7,500 per year, the reports include a custom online survey of up to 1,000 participants free of charge. @PCData Online Reports will track: Web properties, Web sites, domains and categories; demographics including gender, age, income levels, occupation and user type (home, business, school, etc.); and statistics including unique users, frequency of visits, pages viewed, secure pages viewed, time viewed (a.k.a. stickiness).

PC Data has been providing point-of-sale data since 1991, largely for software and hardware sales information, supplying data to more than 800 companies.