Continued eCommerce Industry Recovery in Q409 Reports Mercent; Mercent eCommerce Performance Index(TM) Indicates Strong Online Retail Growth in 2010


SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwire - January 14, 2010) - Mercent™, a leading provider of on-demand marketing solutions for retailers, today released results for the Mercent eCommerce Performance Index™ -- a quarterly report that measures year-over-year (YOY) aggregate same-seller gross merchandise value (GMV) across online sales channels supported by the Mercent Retail™ channel management platform.

According to the Q409 Mercent eCommerce Performance Index, same-seller GMV for retailers selling online through Mercent Retail continued to accelerate through the end of FY2009, growing at a 31.9% record-breaking pace relative to the same period in 2008. Fourth quarter growth was significantly higher than the 11.4% growth reported in the Q309 Mercent eCommerce Performance Index. Mercent reported same-seller GMV for merchants participating in Amazon's "Selling on Amazon" program through Mercent Retail also increased in the fourth quarter by 78% compared to 41% YOY growth in Q409.

According to Mercent CEO Eric Best, "Year-over-year ecommerce growth of 31.9% in the fourth quarter reflects continued growth for Mercent retail clients and for the online retail segment overall. While the 2008 holiday selling season provides a soft baseline for year-over-year comparison, Mercent's index data; market analysis; and market trending indicate eCommerce is in a steady recovery that is expected to continue in 2010."

Mercent attributed merchant GMV sales growth across all online channels supported by Mercent to strong consumer spending; the appeal of online channels that provide aggressive and competitive buying options to online shoppers; and the efficiencies of major online shopping destinations such as Amazon, eBay, Google Product Search, Microsoft Bing Cashback and others.

Additionally, retailers have become increasingly savvy in their online sales and advertising strategies, leveraging technologies like Mercent Retail to integrate product data feeds with online sales channels and fully optimize online advertising campaigns and promotions to drive incremental sales. In addition to its hosted software, Mercent clients leverage the Company's market expertise through Mercent's professional consulting and services to ensure they are operating with the most up-to-date and relevant industry, technical and marketing insight and analysis.

Best continued, "eCommerce sales have held up well throughout the recession and we believe as the market moves through 2010, eCommerce sales will continue to trend upward. This is primarily due to advancing tools and technologies that enable merchants to successfully compete online; new and compelling sales channels that complement retailers' own eCommerce sites; and continued consumer adoption and growth in the overall eCommerce market. We anticipate 2010 to be a breakout year for many online retailers."

Mercent eCommerce Performance Index™ Methodology:

The methodology for the Mercent eCommerce Performance Index comparison matches all prior studies and reports retail transactions driven through Mercent's network of online shopping and advertising channels, including comparison shopping engines (CSEs), third-party seller marketplaces, and affiliate programs. To ensure continuity and to eliminate artifact associated with new customer ramp, the Mercent eCommerce Performance Index only references retailers live on the Mercent Retail platform prior to and during the entire reported term.

Information regarding Mercent Retail shopping feed management technology, Mercent Performance marketing services, and the complete list of online marketing channels in the Mercent Shopping Network are available at www.mercent.com.

About Mercent

Mercent is a leading provider of online channel marketing technology and services for retailers. Through its award-winning Mercent Retail™ SAAS technology and Mercent Performance™ professional services, Mercent helps the world's most successful online merchants including 1-800-Flowers, Bass Pro Shops, Brookstone, GUESS?, L'Occitane USA, Redcats Group, and REI optimize online shopping channel marketing campaigns to drive customer acquisition, revenues, profits, and inventory velocity. Mercent is the single point of integration with a vast online advertising network that includes transactional marketplaces such as Amazon.com and eBay; comparison shopping engines (CSEs) such as Shopping.com and NextTag; affiliate marketing programs such as LinkShare and the Google Affiliate Network; and other product advertising channels including Microsoft Bing Cashback and Google Product Listing Ads (PLA). The company is a 'Selling on Amazon.com' Certified System Integrator, Buy.com Gold Certified Partner, eBay Certified Provider and certified Google Product Search Partner. Founded by a seasoned team of Amazon.com veterans, Mercent is a venture-funded company based in Seattle, WA. For more information, visit www.mercent.com.

Contact Information: Mercent PR Contact: Kristine Szarkowitz Tel: 206.310.5323