Channel Intelligence Launches Commerce Data Syndication Service for Online Retailers to Expand Their Market Presence and Increase Sales

Business Wire, Jan 25, 2005

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Best Buy, Circuit City, eToys Direct and Others Increase Visibility of Full Product Catalogs Distributed Among Popular Comparison Shopping Search Engines and Web Portals

Online retailers are turning to specialized syndication services as a strategic ally in stepped-up efforts to drive more consumer traffic to their Web sites and sell more products via a network of online retail partners.

Channel Intelligence, a Florida-based e-commerce services company, today announced the widespread availability of the Commerce Data Syndication(SM) service for online retailers. This service provides retailers with an efficient and cost-effective method of delivering customized product catalogs to their e-commerce partners.

The service helps maximize the retailer's e-commerce presence among comparison shopping search engines and popular Web portals by accurately unifying and categorizing products available for sale and attaching them to the identical products on the retail partner's Web site. This leads to greater buying opportunities for the more than 100 million consumers who shop at these online sites.

Major retailers already using the Commerce Data Syndication(SM) service offered by Channel Intelligence include Best Buy, Circuit City and eToys Direct. Channel Intelligence currently syndicates product catalogs to 27 channel partners on behalf of these retail clients, including shopping comparison sites, such as BizRate, Froogle, CNET Shopper and Shopping.com; popular shopping portals, such as MSN Shopping, Yahoo! Shopping and AOL inStore; affiliate networks, such as LinkShare and Commission Junction; and search engines/marketers, such as Google, Overture and TrafficLeader.

"The Commerce Data Syndication(SM) service allows us to send product data feeds to our partners, portals and affiliates without individual integration processes or constant monitoring," said Chris Cummings, senior vice president and CIO of eToys Direct. "Channel Intelligence provides invaluable expertise and accuracy to this process, which allows us to focus on growing our overall business."

The Commerce Data Syndication(SM) service also reduces the significant IT costs associated with creating and managing the specialized data feeds required for each e-commerce partner. In addition, this service allows retailers to quickly add new partners without the delays often caused by limited IT resources.

"The strategic release partners for Commerce Data Syndication(SM) immediately benefited from the significant improvement in match rates with their e-commerce partners," said Steven Roth, program manager at Channel Intelligence. "It is amazing how many products just 'fall through the cracks' at shopping sites because of the lack of product unification or improper categorization."

About Channel Intelligence (http://www.channelintelligence.com)

Founded in 1999 and headquartered near Orlando, Fla., Channel Intelligence develops suites of commerce data interchange services, which enhance the online and offline sales process among manufacturers, retailers, value-added resellers (VARs) and consumers. Channel Intelligence serves more than 100 manufacturers and 400 retailers worldwide with SellPath(SM) Services and BrandPath(SM) Services that increase channel sales. Channel Intelligence also offers commerce data and product content syndication services, which are built upon the Commerce Data Interchange (CDI) platform.