January 17 2007

Search and merchandising meets analytics

E-commerce is continuing to spread its fingers out across the whole retail business and away from the IT/marketing/e-commerce department of multi-channel retailers. This, of course, has had a knock-on effect on people's workload, reporting and required skills. This leaves retailers with the quandry of do you expect people who were hired for their skills and expertise in other areas - such as merchandising - to learn IT skills or do you bring in systems which allow them to do their job more effectively?

Solutions provider Mercado Software has launched Mercado 4.0 which provides "merchandising managers with the knowledge, tools and control that they need to immediately obtain maximum return on their online retail site". For anyone on Mercado's email marketing list who has been receiving cartoons about Mandy the super-merchandiser this is what the 'hype' has been about.

Mercado 4.0 is a merchandising system which integrates with site analytics and inventory systems so that merchandisers and product managers have the information they need in front of them when they set up merchandising rules. They can see which are the highest converting products, what levels of stock are held for different items and the profit margin on each. Rules can be set so that when a customer performs a search, the item the merchandiser wants to offer is at the top of the list and not something with low stock levels or even a product which is out-of-stock.

Having everything in one place is certainly a good idea when you consider that most printed web analytics reports just sit in in-trays - 80% are never actioned by merchandising, according to Jupiter research.

Press release follows:

Mercado Software, the leading provider of eCommerce search and merchandising solutions, today launched Mercado 4.0 - a solution that represents a new generation of intelligent eCommerce. Combining the best site search & navigation technologies, with sophisticated merchandising and actionable reporting, Mercado 4 provides eCommerce merchandising managers with the knowledge, tools, and control that they need to immediately obtain maximum return on their online retail site.

"In order to maximize profits, eCommerce businesses need a merchandising strategy and tools that integrate the disparate data that reflect their reality - metrics like conversion rates, customer reviews, inventory levels, and product freshness," said Corey Leibow, president and CEO of Mercado Software. "Mercado 4.0 is very significant for our industry because it not only connects the dots between various meaningful eCommerce metrics, but also allows merchandisers to immediately act on this data and deploy the merchandising mix that is right for them."

Like having a trusted eCommerce advisor sitting by your side, Mercado 4.0 consolidates 10 years of eCommerce expertise into its Merchandising Console and workflow design. Mercado 4.0 increases conversion rates and online revenue using best of breed search and navigation results, SEO/SEM integrated dynamic landing pages, and industry-leading merchandising rules driven by metrics, absolute values, and artful merchandising. By automating those merchandising tasks that are inherently metrics-driven, and facilitating and validating merchandising decision-making, Mercado 4.0 frees up valuable time - allowing the merchandising, product, or marketing manager to focus on more strategic and revenue-generating activities. "The online channel is becoming increasingly important to our overall business, so the execution of intelligent merchandising strategies is critical," says Ben Viscon, Online Merchandising Manager at Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI). "Mercado 4.0 exposes Metrics-Driven Merchandising in an easy-to-use Merchandising Console that will allow our non-technical merchandising staff to make sound merchandising decisions - and act on them quickly." The intuitive new Merchandising Console puts the power in the hands of business users. For example, merchandising managers can confidently deploy auto-ranking formulas that self optimize product ranking according to dynamic metrics such as inventory levels, conversion rates, and product freshness. Mercado 4.0 automates the process of aggregating and analyzing data and affecting changes to eCommerce site behavior, saving time and ensuring information is acted on according to a company's formulas and merchandising campaigns. "Mercado has revolutionized how customers find products on our eCommerce sites - and how we merchandise for optimal sales. The integration of powerful tools, such as web analytics, enables us to do a lot with limited resources. It also allows us to take the guesswork out of executing our online initiatives," say Brian Beck, CEO of Broadspan Commerce, which operates www.directlyhome.com. "By allowing our marketing staff to view and automatically leverage our business metrics through a single merchandising interface, Mercado 4.0 will allow us to easily validate and automate our merchandising strategies." By using integrated metrics from back-end ERP systems, web analytics data gleaned from Coremetrics, Fireclick, and Omniture, and customer reviews and ranking information from vendors like Bazaarvoice and PowerReviews - Mercado 4.0 enables business users to understand the holistic "search to sell" view of site activity, enabling them to take nimble actions on traditionally read-only information. By testing, measuring, and deploying the most effective campaigns and merchandising strategies, merchandising managers can achieve higher conversion rates, revenues and profits.

"Mercado continues to raise the bar with its latest release - making what I already considered the most advanced merchandising interface even better," said Susan Aldrich, analyst and Senior Vice President at the Patricia Seybold Group. "Mercado 4.0's Merchandising Console brings a completely innovative approach to site search and merchandising by allowing retailers to easily act on - and have their site immediately reflect - the metrics that are important to them."

About Mercado Software Mercado is the leading e-commerce 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.

Emma Herrod