From Ruby Rings to Red Roses -- AOLLaunches Valentine's Day Gift Center
February 4, 1999 08:36 AM
DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 4, 1999--
AOL Shopping To Feature More Than 1,000 Romantic Gifts For First 1999 Major Shopping Holiday
Cupid's Gift Finder: New Personalized Shopping Service To Help Consumers Select the Right Gift
Procter & Gamble's "Send a Kiss" Interactive Promotion to be Prominently Featured on AOL Instant Messenger, Love@AOL
Just weeks after AOL's record-breaking 1998 holiday shopping season, the Company today announced the launch of its annual Valentine's Day Gift Center, a one-stop-shopping destination that offers online shoppers convenient access to the largest selection of traditional, unique and romantic gifts in cyberspace.
With more than half of its 15 million members now shopping online, AOL, the industry's e-commerce leader, will feature more than 1,000 special gifts and a new personalization service for Valentine's Day -- one of the biggest online shopping holidays of the year for its merchant partners.
Wendy Brown, AOL's Vice President of Electronic Commerce and Sales, said: "We saw e-commerce fundamentally change the face of retailing over the last few months. With more than half of our members now shopping online, and 98% of those who have shopped online indicating that they will shop online again in the next six months, we are confident that the momentum from the 1998 holiday season will continue throughout the year, and that Valentine's Day will be a big hit."
Available on both the AOL Shopping Channel and AOL.COM, the #1 consumer Web site (www.aol.com) in cyberspace, the Valentine's Day Gift Center is organized across six easy-to-shop departments, with all products backed with the popular AOL Guarantee.
Among the 30 AOL Certified Merchants participating in the special holiday shopping promotion are such Valentine's Day favorites as: 1-800-FLOWERS, 911gifts.com, Fragrance Counter, Godiva Chocolatier, iQVC Jewelry, and American Greetings.
"Flowers are the essence of romance every Valentine's Day - and we're thrilled to continue to offer such an exciting variety of Valentine's bouquets on AOL and help hundreds of thousands of shoppers send the right message to their loved ones, " said Donna Iucolano, Vice President of Interactive Services for 1-800-FLOWERS.
Eli Katz, Chief Operating Officer of The Fragrance Counter ALU , said: "Perfume is traditionally a Valentine's Day favorite, so we are well positioned to capitalize on the popularity of this holiday. On the heels of our best holiday shopping season ever, we expect strong sales online."
Adam Rockmore, Director of Global Marketing and Interactive for Godiva Chocolatier, said, "There's no holiday with as much pressure to find the right gift than Valentine's Day. So in order to make it as easy as possible for romantics everywhere to find that perfect gift, and one that's guaranteed to be appreciated, we've created a range of specially designed Valentine's Day Godiva products that are available on AOL. And with the record number of people who did their gift-giving online this past holiday season, we're expecting banner online sales for Valentine's Day."
To support its partners' retailing campaigns, AOL will integrate Valentine's Day commerce opportunities into its compelling programming -- especially the romance-inspired areas that experience the greatest usage during this holiday.
"This Valentine's Day, AOL members will encounter shopping opportunities throughout various programming areas. For example, you'll be able to purchase a book of poetry, should the shopping mood strike while you're chatting with fellow poetry lovers on AOL's Romance Channel . Or, you'll be able to order flowers if you're checking sports scores and remember you still need to buy your Valentine something special," added AOL's Brown.
AOL, P&G Team Up to Promote Scope on Valentine's Day
Capitalizing on the value of advertising in context and AOL's tremendous audience this Valentine's Day is Procter & Gamble, the world's leading packaged goods company and largest advertiser. Procter & Gamble will launch an innovative interactive promotion for Scope, a brand that brings people closer together, whether on- or off-line, the essence of this romantic holiday.
A unique and compelling interactive marketing concept, Scope's "Send a Kiss" promotion will receive prominent positioning on AOL's Instant Messenger (AIM), Mail and Love@AOL areas on the February 14 holiday. The more than 35 million people who are expected to participate will be invited to email a "minty fresh kiss" to someone special with one of five personalized greetings. Visitors to the site will also find useful information and tips courtesy of Scope.
Cupid Meets the Mouse on AOL
For shoppers looking for a more personal gift suggestion, beginning today AOL will feature Cupid's Gift Finder, a revolutionary new online buying guide for the holiday. Available on AOL's Shopping Channel and at Keyword: Gift Finder, this new decision making tool will help shoppers locate and buy a truly original gift that their sweetheart will remember for years to come. Using Cupid's Gift Finder is quick, easy and enjoyable: Shoppers enter the profile of the gift recipient, including their personality, gender, their level of affection for the sender, and the amount they would like to spend on their Valentine. "Cupid" then narrows their search and provides a complete listing of recommended gifts in various categories and with varying price points.
Mixing the expected with the unexpected, Valentine's Day merchandise offered on AOL's Shopping Channel will range from flowers to candy and cards, chocolate fondue, ruby rings and chocolate body paint. Here are few of the many top-selling and unique items available on AOL Shopping Channel for February 14:
Apparel -- J. Crew Sleepwear, Avon's "Hot Lips" boxers, silk lingerie, and His and Hers monogrammed robes, are just a few of AOL's intimate apparel offerings. The Apparel department features a complete collection of comfortable and luxurious men's and women's sleepwear, loungewear, lingerie and casual wear.
A Night of Romance -- Whether you're home alone or spending the evening with that special someone, treat yourself to a special gift from A Night of Romance, a selection of romantic movies, books, music and other "goodies" to create the perfect mood for a relaxing Valentine's Day evening.
Cards & Chocolate -- For the traditional Valentine's Day shopper, AOL's Cards and Chocolate features a large selection of gift cards and decadent sweets, including a Chocolate Body Paint set from 911gifts.com and garden.com chocolate roses.
Gourmet Foods & Gifts -- Spice up your Valentine's Day with Gourmet Foods & Gifts, a diverse and delicious collection of tasty foods, gourmet gift baskets and romantic special occasion cookware.
Perfume & Jewelry -- From Diamond Watches to the sweet scent of True Love, say "Be Mine" with precious jewelry or her favorite perfume from AOL's Perfume and Jewelry collection.
Roses & Floral Arrangements -- No Valentine's Day would be complete without flowers. On AOL, you'll choose from a large selection of roses, gorgeous seasonal floral arrangements, and Valentine's-inspired ceramics, vases and wreaths.
Other Special Shopping Promotions, Services
To ensure that its customers have the fastest and most enjoyable online shopping experience possible, AOL's Valentine's Day Gift Center features exclusive seasonal promotions, programming tools and services to help them make the best gift selections.
Special AOL Valentine's Day shopping promotions include:
The Valentine's Day Gift Center -- Looking for the ultimate gift for that special someone? Visit AOL's Valentine's Day Gift Center, the virtual specialty store of choice for Valentine's Day shoppers. There, you will find a complete collection of the finest and most romantic merchandise available online, whatever your budget.
Quick Gifts -- For those who don't have a lot of time to shop for their lover, or who need to ship a gift a personal gift at the last minute, AOL offers Quick Gifts, the fastest and easiest way to shop. This Valentine's Day, Quick Gifts offers consumers immediate access to hundreds of traditional and unique presents -- all guaranteed to arrive at the recipients home within 24 to 48 hours after the purchase is made.
A to Z Directory -- For shoppers who prefer to peruse all of AOL's Valentine's Day gift offerings, the Gift Center features a complete A to Z Directory. Using the Directory, consumers can sort for gifts by product description or brand name.
Whether you're a veteran online shopper or are experiencing it for the first time, shopping with America Online has never been easier, faster or more enjoyable. This Valentine's Day, the company will offer consumers the easiest, best and most advanced shopping tools and technologies online and on the Web, including:
Quick Check-out -- For those who demand a quick and hassle-free shopping experience, AOL offers Quick Check-out, a new service guaranteed to streamline the somewhat cumbersome "checkout" process. Using this new "wallet" technology, AOL's Quick Checkout invites shoppers to store key purchase information securely online, including 10 credit card numbers and up to 50 shipping addresses, making the purchase and "checkout" process as simple as a few clicks of the mouse.
Shopping Helper -- With AOL's Shopping Helper, customer service representatives are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to answer questions, to assist with purchases, to cater to the specific needs of first time buyers, and to provide shopping tips and technical support. For those who prefer to obtain help online or those who need a quick and easy shopping tutorial to get them started, the area offers a five-minute step-by-step shopping help guide.
Gift Reminder Service -- Whether you choose to shop online or off-line for your Valentine online or off-line, consider subscribing to AOL's popular Gift Reminder Service for all of your important dates. This complimentary service will send registrants an email to remind them of special dates they want to be reminded of, and great gift suggestions based on the designated profile of each gift recipient. For Valentine's Day alone, more than one million Gift Reminders will be sent to AOL members.
About AOL Shopping
With more than 15 million members on AOL -- and millions more other Internet users on AOL.COM -- America Online is the undisputed leader in the online marketplace, bringing together the best roster of name-brand retail partners with the largest audience of shoppers anywhere in cyberspace.
More people use America Online to shop than any other destination in cyberspace because, with more than 110 of the best brand name partners offering the largest variety of popular consumer products, AOL makes it easy and convenient for consumers to locate and buy the products they are looking for. With the Shopping Channel on AOL and AOL.COM, consumers need only visit one shopping site rather than multiple stores - to find what they are interested in buying. All of this -- brand name merchants, one-stop-shopping, and great new features and programming -- makes AOL the most popular place to browse and e-shop in cyberspace.
About America Online
America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, Virginia, is the world's leader in branded interactive services and content. America Online, Inc. operates two worldwide Internet services: America Online, with more than 15 million members; and CompuServe, with approximately 2 million members. America Online, Inc. also operates AOL Studios, a leading builder of Internet brands for new market segments. Other branded Internet services operated by America Online, Inc. include AOL.COM, the world's most accessed Web site from home; Digital City, Inc., the No. 1 branded local content network and community guide on AOL and the Internet; AOL NetFind, AOL's comprehensive guide to the Internet; AOL Instant Messenger, an instant messaging tool available on both AOL and the Internet; and ICQ, an instant communication and chat technology on the Internet.
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