Contact Information: Mercent PR Contact: Kristine Szarkowitz Tel: 206.310.5323
Continued eCommerce Industry Recovery in Q409 Reports Mercent; Mercent eCommerce Performance Index(TM) Indicates Strong Online Retail Growth in 2010
| Source: Mercent
SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwire - January 14, 2010) - Mercent™, a leading provider of on-demand
marketing solutions for retailers, today released results for the Mercent
eCommerce Performance Index™ -- a quarterly report that measures
year-over-year (YOY) aggregate same-seller gross merchandise value (GMV)
across online sales channels supported by the Mercent Retail™ channel
management platform.
According to the Q409 Mercent eCommerce Performance Index, same-seller GMV
for retailers selling online through Mercent Retail continued to accelerate
through the end of FY2009, growing at a 31.9% record-breaking pace relative
to the same period in 2008. Fourth quarter growth was significantly higher
than the 11.4% growth reported in the Q309 Mercent eCommerce Performance
Index. Mercent reported same-seller GMV for merchants participating in
Amazon's "Selling on Amazon" program through Mercent Retail also increased
in the fourth quarter by 78% compared to 41% YOY growth in Q409.
According to Mercent CEO Eric Best, "Year-over-year ecommerce growth of
31.9% in the fourth quarter reflects continued growth for Mercent retail
clients and for the online retail segment overall. While the 2008 holiday
selling season provides a soft baseline for year-over-year comparison,
Mercent's index data; market analysis; and market trending indicate
eCommerce is in a steady recovery that is expected to continue in 2010."
Mercent attributed merchant GMV sales growth across all online channels
supported by Mercent to strong consumer spending; the appeal of online
channels that provide aggressive and competitive buying options to online
shoppers; and the efficiencies of major online shopping destinations such
as Amazon, eBay, Google Product Search, Microsoft Bing Cashback and others.
Additionally, retailers have become increasingly savvy in their online
sales and advertising strategies, leveraging technologies like Mercent
Retail to integrate product data feeds with online sales channels and fully
optimize online advertising campaigns and promotions to drive incremental
sales. In addition to its hosted software, Mercent clients leverage the
Company's market expertise through Mercent's professional consulting and
services to ensure they are operating with the most
up-to-date and relevant industry, technical and marketing insight and
analysis.
Best continued, "eCommerce sales have held up well throughout the recession
and we believe as the market moves through 2010, eCommerce sales will
continue to trend upward. This is primarily due to advancing tools and
technologies that enable merchants to successfully compete online; new and
compelling sales channels that complement retailers' own eCommerce sites;
and continued consumer adoption and growth in the overall eCommerce market.
We anticipate 2010 to be a breakout year for many online retailers."
Mercent eCommerce Performance Index™ Methodology:
The methodology for the Mercent eCommerce Performance Index comparison
matches all prior studies and reports retail transactions driven through
Mercent's network of online shopping and advertising channels, including
comparison shopping engines (CSEs), third-party seller marketplaces, and
affiliate programs. To ensure continuity and to eliminate artifact
associated with new customer ramp, the Mercent eCommerce Performance Index
only references retailers live on the Mercent Retail platform prior to and
during the entire reported term.
Information regarding Mercent Retail shopping feed management technology,
Mercent Performance marketing services, and the complete list of online
marketing channels in the Mercent Shopping Network are available at
www.mercent.com.
About Mercent
Mercent is a leading provider of online channel marketing technology and
services for retailers. Through its award-winning Mercent Retail™ SAAS
technology and Mercent Performance™ professional services, Mercent helps
the world's most successful online merchants including 1-800-Flowers, Bass
Pro Shops, Brookstone, GUESS?, L'Occitane USA, Redcats Group, and REI
optimize online shopping channel marketing campaigns to drive customer
acquisition, revenues, profits, and inventory velocity. Mercent is the
single point of integration with a vast online advertising network that
includes transactional marketplaces such as Amazon.com and eBay; comparison
shopping engines (CSEs) such as Shopping.com and NextTag; affiliate
marketing programs such as LinkShare and the Google Affiliate Network; and
other product advertising channels including Microsoft Bing Cashback and
Google Product Listing Ads (PLA). The company is a 'Selling on Amazon.com'
Certified System Integrator, Buy.com Gold Certified Partner, eBay Certified
Provider and certified Google Product Search Partner. Founded by a
seasoned team of Amazon.com veterans, Mercent is a venture-funded company
based in Seattle, WA. For more information, visit www.mercent.com.