Searchandise Commerce Extends Services to Mobile Commerce

Manufacturers bid for premium positioning; retailers receive additional revenue on the mobile web through HitList Mobile

Beverly, Mass. - January 12, 2010

Searchandise Commerce, the first online media network for product manufacturers and their retail channel partners, today announced the availability of HitList Mobile, delivering the company's online merchandising services to mobile devices. According to a recent report from Compete, 37 percent of smartphone owners purchased merchandise via their phones in 2009. With this uptick in mobile commerce activity, Searchandise Commerce now enables manufacturers to positively affect their position for maximum visibility wherever searches are occurring, while retailers can monetize premium position as a means of generating revenue from untapped mobile real estate.

Searchandise Commerce combines the dynamics of in-store merchandising, where products vie for premium position, with the ROI and cost-per-click bidding of paid search and applies it to online retail. Now the service is offered on mobile devices to better engage consumers while they're researching and purchasing products.

HitList, the company's first-of-its-kind solution that enables retailers to monetize all areas of their Web sites, is now extended to mobile sites via HitList Mobile. Manufacturers bid for improved placement in search results, product showcases, category and sub-category pages and home pages, by incorporating advertiser bids into site-side search as part of their sort algorithm, all the while maintaining the consumer-experience.

For retailers, the upside is that with no cost, an incremental revenue stream can be turned on with no disruption to the consumer experience and no loss of control over sort order.
For manufacturers, HitList Mobile offers an unprecedented opportunity to proactively manage product placement, boost visibility and increase clickshare across a network of retail sites.

"We are seeing increased interest from our customers in the ability to purchase through a variety of mobile devices. Our main concern is that Ritz Interactive is easy to navigate through any access point including smartphones and other mobile devices," said Andre Brysha, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Ritz Interactive, Inc., "Having worked with Searchandise Commerce on our core Web site, we're encouraged to see the solution expand to mobile, and dovetail with our strategy."

The offering is representative of the larger trend of mobile commerce, also known as mcommerce. Nearly one in five consumers were expected to use their mobile phones to assist them with 2009 holiday shopping, according to a survey of 10,878 U.S. consumers by research and consulting firm Deloitte LLC. Fifty five percent of those consumers planned to find store locations, 45 percent to research prices, 40 percent to find product information, 32 percent to get discounts and coupons and 31 percent to read reviews. In addition, one in four shoppers were expected to make a purchase with a mobile phone.

"The practice is tried and true - paying for placement - in-store, online, and now on the mobile web - work, because premium positions affect the decision-making process," said John Federman, president and CEO, Searchandise Commerce.

About Searchandise Commerce

Searchandise Commerce provides the first online media network for product manufacturers and their retail channel partners. The company offers an innovative service combining paid online search tactics with in-store merchandising practices for eCommerce. CommerceNet, the company's network of retail and comparison shopping sites, offers manufacturers the opportunity to use CPC bids to heighten their position within search results and product listings across the network, and provides retailers the opportunity to merchandise, monetize and maximize their online retail efforts through HitList. At both ends of the spectrum, Searchandise Commerce's services are designed to engage prospects at the point of purchase to increase revenue and sales. For more information on the company and its services, please visit us online at www.searchandise.net or call 978.712.4554.