LOS ANGELES - Oct. 24, 2000 (PRIMEZONE) -- Return Assured Inc. (Nasdaq:RTRN) has found the solution to the primary reason why 80 percent of consumers drop their shopping carts and fail to complete their purchases online -- fear of the unknown, roughly translated to mean their inability to trust vendors that they cannot see or touch for themselves. This insecurity has led Return Assured to launch the world's first proprietary B2B and B2C "Web Seal of Approval" that will guarantee that anything you buy from a participating electronic retailer can be returned if you are not satisfied and your money will be refunded. This independent assurance program is backed by one of the world's most respected insurance companies, Lloyds of London.
By 2004, 8.4 percent of all retail sales are expected to be generated via the Internet, according to Forrester Research. Additionally, 54 percent of online users and 37 percent of e-commerce buyers indicate that they would buy more products online if it were easier to return merchandiser and 50 percent of those surveyed said that they are currently dissatisfied with existing return processes. This is extremely significant since roughly one out of every 10 products sold this year will be returned by consumers for one reason or another.
As an independent assurance program backed by one of the world's most respected insurance companies, Lloyds of London, the Return Assured seal of approval on a Web site instantly signifies to the consumer that their online purchases are guaranteed by the online merchant and also backed by Return Assured and Lloyds of London. The seal also shows that the vendor has met Return Assured's stringent customer service standards and has agreed to live up to its clearly posted return and exchange policy. Then, if for any reason the vendor cannot or will not honor its policy, Return Assured will, by providing a full refund to the customer.
Return Assured's third party status also acts to insure credit transactions, protecting an e-business from the high return charges credit card companies charge the retailers. The Web Seal of Approval program can almost completely eliminate charge backs. Dissatisfied customers no longer need to dispute their charges with credit card companies, because Return Assured issues an immediate refund. In other words, Return Assured helps merchants stay in perfect terms with the credit card companies, while at the same time establishing a higher degree of trust with their customers. According to a report from Price Waterhouse Coopers, returns can account for 5-15 percent of all online sales or over $61 billion worldwide by next year.
"If a customer has a problem returning products to a retailer participating in our web-seal program, all that customer has to do is send the product directly to Return Assured and we'll issue an immediate refund, on the spot!" says Matt Sebal, President and CEO of Return Assured Inc. This means that we have just eliminated the biggest fear for online shoppers and at the same time, given retailers a sure-fire way to show consumers when they buy from a Return Assured back site, their online purchases are protected."
With the increased use of the Internet, consumers consistently have easier access to near perfect information on just about any product or service they may want. Because of this, Return Assured is convinced that there has been a major power shift in the online retailing world. Retailers are finding that it is no longer enough to just provide detailed information on the product they offer online. The real catalyst for securing sales in today's online marketplace is the retailer's ability to offer its consumers a risk free shopping experience.
Return Assured believes that it has found a solution that works for companies of all sizes, from the small boutique sites with a very selective group of users to the megasites that attract millions of users a month. No matter what their size, the operators of these sites are spending a tremendous amount of money to attract potential customers to their sites. So it only makes sense to make sure that they do everything they can to turn every user possible into a customer. That is why adding Return Assured's Web Seal of Approval is so important.
Partnering companies also benefit greatly by reducing the number of chargebacks they accumulate with their merchant banks. Chargebacks occur when a customer disputes a charge on their credit card bill, often because of problems returning a product they have bought. Typically, if chargebacks add up to 1% or more of a retailers total sales, the retailer can lose its merchant bank account. Return Assured albeit eliminates chargebacks by making sure that customers never have a problem returning products bought from affiliated retailers.
"Right now every site is losing potential sales because a significant percentage of its users are worried about what whether or not they'll be able to return something they're considering buying online. But with our Web Seal of Approval, they can alleviate their users' fear of making purchases online. Retailers can instantly start converting a larger number of those valuable consumers that they have already successfully attracted to their site into paying customers, just by letting them know that they are certified and backed by Return Assured," explains Sebal.
"The wealth in customer relationships cannot be ignored. With all of the competing retail choices out there now and the massive expense of attracting consumers to their sites to begin with, the thought of losing customers to competitors because of return policy fears is unconscionable. One lost customer is one too many. Our Web Seal of Approval will become the standard of reliability for merchants and consumers. Not only will it drive consumers to participating sites, but it will give them the confidence to shop there as well," adds Sebal.
About Return Assured
Strategically partnering with Lloyd's of London (www.lloyds.com) and IBM (NYSE:IBM) (www.ibm.com), Return Assured Inc. (www.returnassured.com) has developed a proprietary B2C and B2B value-added "Web-Seal of Approval" for the electronic retail community that vets retailers with high standards and then indemnifies the consumer with a "no-hassle" guarantee in support of that particular web retailer's return and customer service policy. Return Assured currently has no direct competitors. Some credit card issuers such as American Express (NYSE:APX), Citibank, a division of Citigroup (NYSE:C) and MBNA Corp. (NYSE:KRB), offer purchase protection programs for certain types of purchases made with various cards they back, but do not have blanket policies such as those by Return Assured. For more information of Return Assured and its exclusive Web Seal of Approval, please visit the company's web site at www.returnassured.com.
This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts. These statements are subject to uncertainties and risks including, but not limited to, product and service demand and acceptance, changes in technology, economic conditions, the impact of competition and pricing, and government regulation and approvals. In addition, statements concerning the completion of the proposed merger are forward-looking in nature. All such forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, and whether made by, or on behalf of Return Assured, Inc., are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements and any other cautionary statements which may accompany the forward-looking statements. In addition, Return Assured, Inc. (the Company) disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. The information contained on any web site referenced in this press release is not a part of this press release. Merger Communications (Merger) is a media relations firm employed by the Company. Merger and the Company believe that all information in this release has been obtained from sources considered reliable, but cannot guarantee that the statements presented herein are accurate or complete. Merger, its officers, directors and employees currently do not own any stock in the Company, but have a contract under negotiation with a third party that could award stock to Merger for its services. According to an existing three month agreement between Merger and the Company, Merger's compensation for its financial media relations services, which includes the preparation and distribution of press releases, consists of five thousand dollars per month.