Mercado Software, the leading provider of eCommerce search and merchandising solutions, today announced the successful integration of the Bazaarvoice ratings and reviews solution at Overstock.com, Inc. Mercado’s extensive use of customer feedback data makes it easier for Overstock’s customers to refine product selections based on what are becoming increasingly important buying decision criteria.
The benefits of search and merchandising have long been recognized: retailers have commonly reported significant conversion rate and average order value (AOV) increases as a result of solutions like Mercado. Retailers are now rapidly realizing the power of word-of-mouth marketing, and the benefits of providing a mechanism for customers to provide product reviews and rankings on their sites. Earlier this year Mercado and Bazaarvoice established a partnership to satisfy demand from retailers for the inclusion of product rankings as key relevancy metrics in eCommerce search and navigation results.
Number 25 on the Internet Retailer Top 500, Overstock.com is an innovator in online retailing, and an early adopter of leading edge technology. Overstock.com went live with Mercado in March 2007 and integrated Bazaarvoice into their searchandising environment within a couple of weeks. Now, when customers shop on Overstock.com, in addition to narrowing choices based on attributes such as color, brand, size, or price, they can sort their results by highest review rated products.
“The integration of ratings and reviews into search and merchandising really reinforces what we’re trying to do at Overstock,” said Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com.
“Consumers are turning to each other to make the best possible purchase decisions, and ratings and reviews are increasingly important for retailers and shoppers alike,” said Brett Hurt, founder and CEO of Bazaarvoice. “Through the integration of Bazaarvoice and Mercado, visitors to Overstock are able to quickly and easily find top-rated products in any category, making the shopping experience more efficient and rewarding.”
“Overstock.com is a great example of how customer feedback is increasingly playing an important role in online retailing, and we’re thrilled with their deployment of the Mercado/Bazaarvoice joint solution,” said Corey Leibow, CEO of Mercado Software. “Our partnership with Bazaarvoice underscores the importance of user-generated content to searchandising. We look forward to many more success stories like Overstock.com and continuing to strengthen our partnership with Bazaarvoice.”
About Mercado Software
Mercado (www.mercado.com) is the leading eCommerce search & merchandising solution specialist for multi-channel retail and B2B organizations. By enabling a superior buying experience and equipping business managers with a powerful platform on which to execute merchandising strategies, online businesses can aggressively grow revenue and foster customer loyalty. Sears Holdings Corp., GUESS?, Inc., Williams-Sonoma Inc., OfficeMax, Macy's, ShopNBC, Delightful Deliveries, and Organize.com are some of the companies benefiting from Mercado’s solutions. For more information about Mercado Software, please visit www.mercado.com or call (888) 376-1400.
About Bazaarvoice
Based in Austin, Texas, Bazaarvoice (www.bazaarvoice.com) offers outsourced technology, community management services, analytics, and syndication to encourage and harness word of mouth marketing, and bring it closer to a company’s brand and customer experience. The company’s flagship hosted and fully managed customer ratings and review service allows businesses to enable, encourage, and analyze customer ratings and reviews on their website. Clients like Dell, Sears, Bass Pro Shops, CompUSA, Overstock.com, Macy’s, and PETCO benefit from a credible and reliable customer-to-customer community, without having to delve into complex IT work or the laborious process of community management.
About Overstock.com
Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSTK) (www.overstock.com) is the Internet leader for brand names at clearance prices. Overstock.com offers its customers an opportunity to shop for bargains conveniently, while offering its suppliers an alternative inventory liquidation distribution channel. Overstock.com, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah is a publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ Global Market System. Overstock.com is a trademark of Overstock.com, Inc.
In respect to Overstock.com, Inc. this press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, forecasted benefits of the software deployment, like increased conversion, easier customer search and navigation, reduction in the search-to-buy cycle, as well as all such other risks as identified in Overstock.com’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, and all its subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which contain and identify important factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in its projections or forward-looking statements.
Contacts:
Mark Shapiro, 858-573-0736
mshapiro@davismarrin.com
