AOL Launches Major New Shopping Initiative Across Its Major Brands
May 19, 1999 09:41 AM
DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 1999--
Shop@AOL Designed to Enhance Consumer Online Buying Experience and Merchandising of Retail Partners' Goods and Services
Shop@Netcenter, Shop@CompuServe to Launch Later This Year
AOL Reports Shoppers Spent Over $1.8 Billion In The March 1999 Quarter, with 1.7 Million AOL Members Buying Online for the First Time
Veteran Merchandiser Patrick Gates to Lead Shop@AOL Team
America Online, Inc., the world's leading interactive services company, today announced that it will launch this summer a major new shopping initiative -- Shop@AOL.
Leading a new generation in online shopping, Shop@AOL will take its members' shopping experience to the next level by setting a new industry standard for consumer convenience while incorporating a merchandising strategy for partners to drive sales of its retail partners' goods and services.
The Company also announced that AOL shoppers spent a record $1.8 billion dollars in the March 1999 quarter, spending 75% more in March alone than they did in September 1998, just six months ago. AOL brought more than 1.7 million first time buyers to online merchants in the March quarter.
The new Shop@AOL features a dramatic redesign along with the highest quality and best known brands on the Web aimed at making the online shopping experience even more central to consumers' everyday lives. Specifically, Shop@AOL will deliver:
-- A branded shopping experience creating enhanced "stickiness" to cultivate consumer loyalty and merchandise sales. At Shop@AOL, users will find an even more intuitive and efficient shopping interface; improved shopping tools; added personalization; and the best selection of brand name partners available online.
-- A consumer-centric design to transform window-shoppers into buyers. Specifically, Shop@AOL will offer shoppers an enhanced product search; personalized buying guides; an upgraded Quick Checkout that includes a streamlined customer interface and a protocol so merchants can easily integrate the feature; and the Certified Merchant and AOL Guarantees, that ensure merchants exceed the high set standard for customer service.
-- A partner-centric business model that offers merchants more sophisticated retailing and merchandising programs as well as dynamic management of promotions.
-- A dynamic shopping environment based on the HTML platform. Shop@AOL's new platform will provide more exciting merchandising, editing and robust presentation for partners. Consumers will find that shopping screens are more user-friendly and that the new platform features a broader assortment of product departments, categories and quality merchants.
-- State-of-the-art tools to serve as the foundation of the merchant partners' relationship with consumers. These tools will provide more flexible ways for merchants to promote products and provide and easier experience for the consumer.
The platform on which Shop@AOL has been developed will be deployed across the AOL brands to further fuel the success of online shopping. Shop@Netcenter and Shop@CompuServe will be rolled out later this year. While the platform will be modified to best serve the appropriate brand, it will enable these brands to share and implement many of the same assets that have been developed for the Shop@AOL brand.
In addition, America Online today announced that veteran merchandiser Patrick Gates has joined the Company as Vice President, E-commerce. Mr. Gates will spearhead the Shop@AOL effort and oversee other commerce and merchandising initiatives. Mr. Gates brings over 15 years' experience in traditional and online retail and merchandising, with well-known companies like the Home Shopping Network, Neiman Marcus and Barneys New York.
Bob Pittman, President and Chief Operating Officer of America Online, said: "Today's announcement underscores the growing success of AOL shopping. It is our goal to capture a greater share of rising e-commerce revenues while delivering to consumers the most rewarding shopping experience available."
Mr. Pittman added: "AOL is bringing a million consumers into the cyberspace market place every 60 days. The online shopping experience continually evolves. Research shows that once these consumers make their first purchase online, they are more and more likely to incorporate shopping as part of their online routine. AOL offers the best environment for these new consumers, because no one in cyberspace brings in more first-time buyers, understands their needs and delivers the ease-of-use and convenience to get them to shop time and again. Shop @AOL demonstrates we can deliver shoppers to the next level with an enriching, consumer friendly and satisfying shopping experience."
Katherine Borsecnik, AOL Senior Vice President of Strategic Businesses, said: "Shop @AOL is positioned to deliver consumers a shopping experience like none other in cyberspace. AOL members and our partners have played an important roll in offering suggestions that helped shape our ideas for Shop@AOL. To make Shop@AOL successful, we focused on delivering an experience that was both more consumer and partner friendly. We believe Shop@AOL will be very effective in moving merchandise for its partners, delivering a product that is easy for partners to use and appealing for consumers."
Ms. Borsecnik continued: "Patrick Gates' unique expertise and experience in both traditional and interactive retail merchandising and sales will be most valuable assets to building Shop@AOL. We are confident that Patrick's work to promote our retail partners in the most engaging way possible, while building a quality consumer experience, will be key to Shop @AOL's success."
AOL's strong performance in e-commerce in the last quarter came in spite of the fact that on average traditional offline retail sales decline 12% to 15% from the December to March quarters.
The AOL Shopping is the No. 1 commerce site in cyberspace according to the March 1999 Media-Metrix report.
About America Online
Founded in 1985, America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, Virginia, is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies, and e-commerce services.
America Online, Inc. operates: two worldwide Internet services, America Online, with more than 17 million members, and CompuServe, with approximately 2 million members; several leading Internet brands including ICQ and Digital City, Inc.; the Netscape Netcenter and AOL.COM portals; and the Netscape Navigator and Communicator browsers.
Through its strategic alliance with Sun Microsystems, the Company develops and offers easy-to-deploy, end-to-end e-commerce and enterprise solutions for companies operating in the Net Economy.
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