Shop@AOL Ratings Introduced

Elrick & Lavidge Marketing Research, a division of Aegis Communications Group Inc., has forged an agreement with America Online under which it will provide visitors to Shop@AOL with independent reviews of merchants, including ratings of key factors that lead to a successful online shopping experience. After anonymously shopping with Shop@AOL's merchant partners, making purchases and returns as part of their independent ratings process, Atlanta-based E&L will provide consumers with independent merchant reviews. E&L will rate the merchants according to ten dimensions of service: quality of Web site; product selection; ordering process; payment options; shipping and handling; order fulfillment; returns and guarantee policies; privacy and security information; special features; and customer support. Consumers can use these ratings to make informed buying decisions, the company says. E&L will report results using a 5-star rating system, with five stars indicating the highest rating a merchant can receive and one star the lowest. E&L also will provide an overall rating of the merchant's site using the five-star system. This merchant ratings information is available to AOL members at AOL Keyword: ShopHelp and to all Web users at www.onlinestoreratings.com. In addition to providing independent merchant reviews to the consumers, E&L's research will offer feedback to Shop@AOL merchants regarding consumers' experience on the merchants' Web sites, which they obtain from consumers by giving them the opportunity to participate in online surveys. These surveys will measure consumers' satisfaction with their online shopping experience, focusing on key areas including customer support, product selection and on-time delivery.