Coremetrics Raises the Bar on Benchmarking with New LIVEmark Solution

March 16, 2005; 12:00 AM

San Mateo, Calif. - March 16, 2005 - Coremetrics, a leading provider of hosted Web analytics and precision marketing solutions, today launched LIVEmark, the first industry-specific benchmarking solution to measure comprehensive online consumer behaviors. Built on Coremetrics LIVE Profiles, the most accurate and complete source of online visitor behavior data, LIVEmark breaks new ground by enabling e-commerce executives and managers to precisely measure themselves against industry averages on such key performance indicators as campaign and channel effectiveness, site stickiness, and conversion rates. LIVEmark participants gain a clear understanding of business performance relative to peers and competitors so they can e ffectively manage online marketing investments and anticipate industry threats and trends.

"We monitor the LIVEmark Index consistently to stay on top of trends in our category and position ourselves as leaders within our competitive set," said Stephanie Garcia, vice president of e-commerce at Restoration Hardware, one of more than 70 brands that have successfully used LIVEmark on a trial basis over the last five months.  "With LIVEmark we can spot industry trends in acquiring customers and affecting online shopping behavior, then adjust our strategy appropriately."

Unparalleled Depth & Accuracy
Coremetrics LIVE (Lifetime Individual Visitor Experience) profiles store all visitor and customer clickstream data for clients representing more than $10 billion in annual online revenue. With LIVEmark, Coremetrics offers its clients a new way to benefit from the unparalleled depth, accuracy and comprehensiveness of this data. The opt-in LIVEmark Index provides participating companies with a set of aggregate benchmark metrics across the industry, as well as their specific category. Unlike measurements that use extrapolations of survey or sampling data, LIVEmark collects a complete record of online visitor behavior resulting in a precise measure of industry performance.

"LIVEmark provides today's multi-channel retailers with a full understanding of what is needed to drive profitability in the online channel," said Joe Davis, Coremetrics CEO and president. "The depth and quality of our client base is what makes these benchmarks so valuable. We serve more online retailers than all our competitors combined and watch $10 billion in annual revenues cross our client network - it is truly a community worth measuring up to."

LIVEmark marks the first time that e-commerce managers can compare key performance indicators to industry peers and competitors. All metrics are created using consistent logic within Coremetrics Online Analytics, providing accurate comparisons that are immediately actionable. For example, clients can compare the conversion rate of their on-site search engine to the LIVEmark Index to determine whether they need to increase investment in on-site search tools and optimization. Easy-to-use reports track company performance against the entire LIVEmark Index, as well as the appropriate sub-vertical category, and provide immediate drill down into areas of interest of concern.

"Using only survey data we were never able to get a complete picture of how our processes stacked up against industry best practices," said Heather Blank, director of e-commerce marketing at PETCO. "LIVEmark delivers benchmark metrics that are consistent with our key performance indicators, allowing us to take action on industry data rather than questioning how to interpret it."

LIVEmark provides over 35 measurements and metrics in key areas include:

Session Traffic - Comparing site effectiveness at key conversion points in the visitor experience allows eCommerce managers to determine where site content and merchandising investments are required ;
  Visitor Experience - The LIVEmark Index tracks site "stickiness" to let participants determine their value of investment in rich media and content;
Transactions - Key metrics, such as average order value, new visitor conversion and shopping cart abandonment, provide insight into the effectiveness of product creative, pricing, and placement relative to industry leaders;
On-Site Search - Clients can compare the conversion rate of their onsite search engine to the LIVEmark Index and determine whether they should increase investment in on-site search tools and optimization;
Online Marketing Campaigns (Email, Natural Search, Affiliate, PPC) - E-commerce managers can now measure their ability to drive and convert site traffic through direct load, natural search, referrals, and paid marketing channels, as well as understand marketing performance and investment levels relative to benchmark brands.
To ensure that security and privacy are never compromised, summary data for participating clients is collected and aggregated to build the LIVEmark Index. Client specific data is never made available to participating members or disclosed publicly.

Pricing and Availability
LIVEmark is immediately available to all Coremetrics clients at no additional charge. The LIVEmark Index includes a benchmark of all participating retailers as well as seven categories: Apparel & Accessories, Specialty Retail, Sports and Outdoor, Home, Garden, General Merchandisers, and Books/Music/Video. The LIVEmark Index will expand over time to include additional industries and categories.

Clients who wish to access benchmark data must also join the LIVEmark Index. For more information, please call 877-721-CORE.

About Coremetrics

Coremetrics is a leading provider of hosted Web analytics and precision marketing solutions. The company's flagship product, Coremetrics 2005, is the industry's only Web analytics platform that captures and stores all customer and visitor clickstream activity to build LIVE (Lifetime Individual Visitor Experience) Profiles that serve as the foundation for all successful e-business initiatives. With Coremetrics 2005, online marketers, IT managers, and e-commerce executives are able to attract and convert high value visitors, increase customer lifetime value, and create a multi-channel view of customer behavior. Coremetrics services over 350 brands including Bank of America, Columbia House, CompUSA, Eddie Bauer, Motorola, The Weather Channel, Victoria's Secret, and Williams-Sonoma. Coremetrics is privately held with funding from Accel Partners and Highland Capital Partners, and is headquartered in San Mateo, California with offices across the US and in London, UK. To learn more about Coremetrics, visit www.coremetrics.com or call 877-721-CORE.