FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
@Plan Research Report Confirms NetZero Users Shop Online
More Than The Average Online Consumer
WESTLAKE VILLAGE AND LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - July 19, 2001 - NetZero Inc., (Nasdaq: NZRO), one of the nation`s leading providers of Internet access services, announced today that it has launched a co-branded shopping portal with BizRate.com, the #1 comparison shopping site on the Web. NetZero`s millions of registered users now have direct access to BizRate.com`s online marketplace, which allows shoppers to conveniently locate and compare over 4 million products, prices and customer-service ratings from more than 2,000 merchants - helping them to find the best deals and to make more informed buying decisions online.
The co-branded shopping portal will be featured in areas on both NetZero Platinum and free services, including NetZero`s start page and the ZeroPort. Users who click on the BizRate link via the start page or ZeroPort button will be conveniently linked to the co-branded site, giving them the opportunity to compare numerous products, prices and 10 different customer service performance ratings, which are based on point-of-sale survey feedback from tens of thousands of online buyers.
Online shopping is a considerable part of the NetZero user`s Internet experience. According to @Plan`s market research report for Summer 20011, NetZero members are more likely than the average online population to have made any online purchases or to have done any shopping online over the last six months. Compared to users of other popular Web sites such as AOL and Yahoo, NetZero users were more likely to have shopped online and purchased such products as home electronics, computer software, music, and health and fitness products, among many others.
"NetZero members are savvy consumers who want the best online shopping experience possible," remarked Mark Goldston, chairman and chief executive officer, NetZero. "By providing convenient access to BizRate.com`s vast marketplace, we can ensure that our members are getting the best deals from the best companies that offer online shopping - ultimately saving them time and money."
"We are very excited to be partnering with one of the largest ISP`s in the country," said Chuck Davis, president and chief executive officer of BizRate.com. "BizRate.com is already the leading comparison shopping site on the Web in terms of traffic and consumer buyer power. By partnering with NetZero, we are dramatically enhancing the volume and quality of consumer traffic we send to our merchants. BizRate.com will provide NetZero`s avid online shoppers with the choice, confidence and convenience they need to purchase smartly online."
By 2005, business-to-consumer e-commerce sales are forecasted to reach $278 billion, and comparison shopping engines are expected to influence $25 billion of that projection2.
1.Source: @Plan Summer 2001
2.Winterberry Group, February 2001
About BizRate.com
Founded in 1996 and based in Los Angeles, BizRate.com (www.bizrate.com) is the #1 comparison shopping site on the Web. Connecting millions of buyers to thousands of sellers in a single, organized location, the site provides the best efficiencies for both buyers and sellers. In BizRate.com`s marketplace, shoppers have access to a powerful product search engine, exclusive deals, "hot" product listings and gift guides to empower consumers to "shop smartly" from over 4 million products, across 20 popular store categories and from more than 2000 merchants. Through BizRate.com`s unbiased consumer rating system, compiled exclusively from point-of-sale and fulfillment surveys of participating merchants, shoppers can compare merchants across 10 service dimensions. BizRate.com ratings appear on Consumer Reports Online and in Consumer Reports magazine.
About NetZero
NetZero is a leading provider of Internet access and other Internet-related services. The company offers consumers high-quality Internet access, a choice of popular e-mail programs and convenient navigation tools that provide "speed dial" to key sites on the Internet. The company also offers a broad range of interactive marketing, research and measurement solutions.
Through proprietary technologies, NetZero offers advertisers unique targeting capabilities through numerous online advertising and sponsorship channels. The company`s CyberTarget division offers marketers and advertisers mass-scale, online market research and measurement services. NetZero is a Cisco Powered Network, offering its Internet access services in more than 5,000 cities across the United States and in Canada.
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, NetZero`s ability to continue to develop, market and sell new products and services, including NetZero Professional and NetZero Platinum; potential delays, bugs or other problems associated with new products; its ability to manage growth or expenses, maintain the quality of its service or achieve profitability; its ability to consummate and integrate acquisitions; its unproven business model and limited operating history; the opportunities in the free Internet access market; the company`s ability to continue to grow its pay or free user base; the company`s ability to generate advertising or fee-based revenues and to decrease telecommunications costs; the effects of competition for users and advertisers; the loss of key customers; technological problems or developments; and governmental regulation. More information about potential factors that could affect the company`s business and financial results is included in the company`s Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (http://www.sec.gov) including (without limitation) information under the captions "Management`s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Risk Factors." NetZeroâ, Defenders of the Free Worldâ, the NetZero logo, zCast*, NZTV*, CyberTarget*, CyberYield* and The ZeroPort* are trademarks of NetZero, Inc. All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
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For press information about NetZero, please contact:
Allison Chesher-Nelson
NetZero, Inc.
312/214-3917
achesher@corp.netzero.net
Peter Delgrosso
NetZero, Inc.
805/418-2388
pdelgrosso@corp.netzero.net
For press information about BizRate.com, please contact:
Helen Malani
BizRate.com
310/754-1280
hmalani@bizrate.com
For investor information about NetZero, please contact:
Brent Zimmerman
NetZero, Inc.
877/280-6380
investor@corp.netzero.net
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