USA TODAY Online moves to define online classifieds; launches 'The Marketplace' for readers to make informed buying decisions

Business Wire, Nov 13, 1996

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13, 1996--USA TODAY Online (www.usatoday.com) announced today Marketplace, a new commercial section of its online site.

Marketplace links breaking news to product information and purchasing opportunities. Marketplace provides users the opportunity to shop electronically at established Web businesses and, in the future, to place online classifieds. Marketplace also provides businesses with a highly-targeted area for display advertising.

"USA TODAY Online wants to provide its readers with a quality online buying experience, not just a list of searchable classifieds. We believe that this experience begins with an educated consumer and top quality vendors," said Lorraine Cichowski, vice president and general manager of USA TODAY Online.

In an effort to service the approximate 60,000 individual users coming to USA TODAY Online's Money section every day, the first Marketplace area to launch will be the Financial Marketplace. Launching will be several online stock-trading brands, including E-TRADE and K. Aufhauser & Company Inc., and Zacks Investment Research Inc.

Partnerships are also being formed to create brand-extending Marketplaces in the areas of technology, employment, real estate, travel, transportation and gifts. The proprietary USA TODAY classifieds area will be added in the coming months.

"The Financial Marketplace complements the up-to-the-minute market news and analysis in our Money section. It is a convenient tool for those interested in personal finance," said Cichowski.

USA TODAY Online is based on The Nation's Newspaper and is free on the Internet. It is one of the most popular and extensive sites on the World Wide Web featuring more than 70,000 pages of up-to-the-minute news, sports, business and technology news, five-day weather forecasts and travel information available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Some 400,000 people come to the site each weekday, requesting approximately 11 million files (hits) each day.

USA TODAY is the nation's top-selling newspaper. It is published via satellite at 33 locations in the USA and at four sites abroad. With a total average daily circulation of 2,180,035, USA TODAY is available worldwide.

CONTACT: USA TODAY Online

Allegra Young, 703/907-4449

or

USA TODAY

Steve Anderson, 703/276-5872

or

E-TRADE

The Dilenschneider Group

Jim Fitzpatrick, 312/553-0700

or

K.Aufhauser & Company Inc.

Peter Ricketts, 402/597-7707

or

Zacks Investment Research Inc.

Melissa Daly, 312/630-9880