Shop.org - Article

Article

For Immediate Release

Kathy Grannis or Ellen Davis (202)783-7971

Shop.org’s CyberMonday.com Wins Technology ROI Award

Washington, June 24, 2008 – Shop.org announced today that it has received Nucleus Research’s 2008 Technology ROI Award for the successful launch and implementation of CyberMonday.com, a website for holiday deals powered by Mall Networks. The award recognizes companies whose skillful deployment of IT solutions has produced a positive, bottom-line financial return on investment (ROI).

“Shop.org is extremely honored to receive this prestigious industry award, which helps elevate the profile of CyberMonday.com and our Ray M. Greenly Scholarship Fund,” said Executive Director of Shop.org Scott Silverman. “When we began working with Mall Networks on this project, we never anticipated that site revenues would be so enormous.”

Shop.org and Massachusetts-based Mall Networks began working together in 2006 to create an online mall for Shop.org’s online retail member and non-member companies to offer Cyber Monday-specific promotions. After immense success the first year the site launched, Shop.org continued to use the site as a landing pad for consumers who were looking for online sales and promotions year-round. The implementation of CyberMonday.com resulted in a 1,765 percent ROI and full project payback within 1.9 months, as determined by Nucleus Research.

“Cybermonday.com is a great proof-point for the tremendous ROI that can be achieved through merchant-funded shopping and the value of a great comparison shopping experience,” said Kimathi Marangu, Executive Vice President of Business Development for Mall Networks. “We are honored to be a part of this project and share in the recognition of CyberMonday.com’s success.”

CyberMonday.com was launched to raise money for a scholarship fund in memory of former Shop.org Vice President Ray Greenly. When shoppers make a purchase through the website, retailers provide a percentage of that sale to Shop.org. To date, more than $400,000 has been raised for the Ray M. Greenly Scholarship Fund, which helps students pursuing careers in eCommerce.

Mall Networks is the leading provider of merchant-funded loyalty shopping solutions that increase revenue, strengthen customer loyalty, and improve member engagement for a range of industries including financial services, card issuers, airline and hospitality, affinity organizations and loyalty programs. Featuring an integrated network of more than 700 world-class online and bricks-and-mortar merchants, Mall Networks' multi-channel shopping solutions and flexible, on-demand platform power personalized online and in-store shopping programs for more than 30 million consumers. Industry leaders including JPMorgan Chase, Upromise, Verizon, Shop.org, Spirit Airlines, Virgin, and NASCAR rely on Mall Networks to build loyal, profitable customer relationships. Mall Networks is headquartered in Lexington, Mass.

Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation, is the world's leading membership community for digital retail. Founded in 1996, Shop.org's 700 members include the 10 largest retailers in the U.S. and more than 60 percent of the Internet Retailer Top 100 E-Retailers. It's where the best retail minds come together to gain the insight, knowledge and intelligence to make smarter, more informed decisions in the evolving world of the Internet and multichannel retailing. Shop.org programs and activities include benchmarking research, events and networking communities.