AOL online shopping heads into holiday season with strong momentum as member spending in october grows 80% over prior year - E-Commerce - America Online Inc - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

Information Superhighways Newsletter, Nov, 2001

America Online, Inc. announced that AOL member spending in October increased 80% from the same month a year ago to $2.7 billion, highlighting the company's strong momentum heading into the holiday shopping season.

AOL will build on this success in the 2001 holiday season with new features and services that address Americans' desire to make spending more time with their family and friends a priority this holiday season. In a post-September 11 survey of consumer attitudes, 35% of consumers said they plan to spend more time visiting with family and friends at home this holiday season, and 29% said they will be spending more time at home overall, according to Roper ASW's Roper Reports. Another major trend is using online resources to research offline purchases, with eight out often online consumers using the Internet to get information about product purchases, according to the 2001 AOL/Roper ASW Cyberstudy.

The new AOL 7.0, which consumers have embraced with more than 6.2 million downloads since its debut less than a month ago, and Shop@AOL, will provide the added convenience and services consumers need to enjoy more quality time with loved ones over the holidays. To make shopping online and offline easier and more efficient than ever before, AOL 7.0 puts a wide range of local town and city features and shopping resources front and center, while Shop@AOL offers an expanded selection of well-known brands with 80 new online stores, creative gift-giving suggestions and discount merchandise for bargain hunters. AOL is also offering an enhanced AOL 100% satisfaction guarantee to ensure a safe, secure shopping experience for its members.

More Brand Names. 100% Guarantee and New Convenience Features Set Stage for Successful Holiday Season on Shop@AOL

AOL will help consumers bring it "home for the holidays" this season with a wide selection of name brands and special promotions at Shop@AOL, an area designed to bring ease and convenience to online shopping and reachable by clicking on the Shop @ button on the AOL tool bar or via Keyword: Shopping. Features and promotions will cater to shoppers' growing inclination to focus on friends and family, their strong feelings of patriotism and their enthusiasm for bargain-hunting and apparel. Specifically for this year, AOL has:

- Added Shop@ partnerships with major consumer brands, including Brookstone, Kohl's and Polo Ralph Lauren. They join shops such as Banana Republic, Blockbuster, Circuit City, CompUSA, Eddie Bauer, Gap, Tower Records and Victoria's Secret; department stores such as Nordstrom and Macy's, and many others.

- Added additional convenience features, including in-store pick up at retailers such as Circuit City, local returns at Banana Republic, Eddie Bauer, Gap, Old Navy and Polo Ralph Lauren stores and the ability to research products at both CompUSA and Circuit City online, to see whether the products are available at their local stores.

- Enhanced Shop@AOL's 100% customer satisfaction guarantee, under which all AOL Certified Merchants must meet high standards for customer service, security and privacy protection before they sell a single item through Shop @ AOL. If customers are not satisfied with a purchase they made from an AOL Certified Merchant at Shop@AOL, and AOL cannot resolve the issue with the merchant, AOL will refund the purchase price.

- Created an "American Holidays" catalog, showcasing a wide range of "red, white and bluethemed" merchandise for patriotic gift giving. While making out their gift lists, shoppers can also take advantage of Shop@AOL's "America United" philanthropic area, which includes charitable initiatives such as a special AOL/Toys for Tots Holiday Toy Drive and "Helping Hands II: Handmade in America," AOL's online auction of celebrity handiwork imbued with the artists' interpretations of the American spirit. Shop@AOL will also feature links to Network for Good (previously helping.org).

Other handy features include an improved electronic shopping list that shoppers can share with family and friends; an enhanced search function that not only helps shoppers find what they're looking for fast, but also allows shoppers to search online for great local shopping and bargains in their areas; and a "last-minute" gift guide for eleventh-hour suggestions guaranteed to arrive by Christmas Day.

AOL also offers outstanding customer service, including live shopping assistance available 24 hours a day, seven days a week by AOL's specially trained representatives, who can be reached via AOL Instant Messenger, by phone or by e-mail.

AOL 7.0 Makes Shopping Better Than Ever

AOL 7.0 brings local content front and center throughout the service and automatically provides information on local shopping opportunities. The new AOL 7.0 Welcome Screen features local information automatically personalized for each member's hometown, including a local shopping guide that contains information on local sales, the ability to find a local store, editor's picks for the best merchants in town, and a holiday gift guide. These features are also available through Shop@AOL, and all local shopping resources will soon be expanded through a new listings directory with enhanced features and search capabilities.