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| [May 29, 2008] |
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ATG Survey Shows Leading Brands Plan to Maintain and Increase e-Commerce Investments
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. --(Business Wire)-- ATG (Art Technology Group, Inc.), the top ranked e-commerce platform and optimization services provider, today announced survey results proving many of the largest and most recognizable Web merchants expect to maintain or increase their e-commerce investments in the near future. Despite the reported decline in consumer spending, a majority of survey respondents believed that the slowing U.S. economy would either not significantly impact their e-commerce business overall, or it might even have a positive impact resulting in e-commerce growth.
The survey, conducted at ATG's annual user conference ATG Insight Live 2008, collected data from representatives of more than 50 global brands in industries ranging from retail, media and entertainment, financial services and insurance, telecommunications, consumer product manufacturing ,healthcare, and technology consulting. While all respondents reported annual Web sales of at least $10 million, the majority (a combined 58 percent of participants) reported annual Web sales of $100 million or more. Within the majority, 26 percent reported annual Web sales of $1 billion or more. Representatives included e-commerce, marketing, IT and sales professionals from ATG customers and partners such as American Eagle Outfitters, AT&T, Handango, Intuit, Louis Vuitton, Urban Outfitters, Vitamin Shoppe and Viking Range.
ATG's research showed that:
-- 96 percent of respondents plan to either maintain or increase their level of investment in e-commerce strategies or tools to strengthen the online experience for customers
-- 4 percent of respondents said they would invest less in e-commerce in order to focus on other marketing and sales channels
-- 48 percent of respondents reported that the slowing U.S. economy would not significantly impact their e-commerce business
-- 22 percent of respondents believed the slowing U.S. economy might have a positive impact on their Web business, resulting in e-commerce growth
The survey of ATG customers underscores recent findings(1) from Shop.org and Forrester Research pointing to their belief that online retail will continue to be a bright spot in the industry with retail sales(2) rising 17 percent this year to $204 billion. ATG-powered sellers cited tools such as automated recommendations technologies and searchandising strategies as important for capturing digital dollars with a focus on building loyalty, since consumers have fewer dollars to spend overall.
"Every year, ATG customers come together to discuss how new e-commerce technologies will help them take their business to the next level and create personalized online shopping experiences for their customers," said Cliff Conneighton, ATG senior vice president of marketing. "This year, concerns about the U.S. economy was a topic on everyone's mind - yet we were pleased to see the majority of merchants were enthusiastic about the future and committed to strengthening their presence on the Web. Research has shown consumers looking to bargain hunt and save gas increasingly turn to the Web, so the time is now to take advantage of the opportunity to delight new customers and turn them into repeat buyers."
About ATG
ATG (Art Technology Group, Inc., NASDAQ: ARTG) provides the e-commerce platform and e-commerce optimization services that the world's most customer-conscious companies use to power their e-commerce Web sites, attract prospects, convert them to buyers and ensure their satisfaction so they become loyal, repeat, profitable customers. Our e-commerce suite is ranked the #1 current offering and #1 in strategy by the industry's most influential analyst firms, and powers more of the top 300 internet retailers than any other vendor. Our eStara brand of e-commerce optimization services - including the world's most widely used click to call offering - dramatically increase conversions and order size and enhance customer support. ATG's solutions are used by over 900 major brands, including AT&T, Best Buy, Bulgari, Coca Cola, Continental Airlines, CVS, Dell, Diane von Furstenberg, DirecTV, eLuxury, El Corte Ingles, Expedia, France Telecom, Harvard Business School Publishing, Hewlett-Packard, Hilton, HSBC, Intuit, Jenny Craig, Louis Vuitton, Macy's, Mercedes Benz, Meredith, Microsoft, Neiman Marcus, New York & Company, NutriSystem, OfficeMax, PayPal, Philips, Procter & Gamble, Sears, Sony, Symantec, Target, T-Mobile, Tommy Hilfiger, Urban Outfitters, Verizon, Viacom, Vodafone and Walgreens.
(1)The State of Retailing Online 2008: Marketing Report, Shop.org / Forrester Research, Inc.
(2)Shop.org defines "retail sales" by excluding travel and including the following categories: apparel, accessories, and footwear; appliances and tools; autos and auto parts; baby products; books; computer hardware, software, and peripherals; consumer electronics; cosmetics and fragrances; flowers and cards; food, beverages, and groceries; gift cards and gift certificates; home furnishings; jewelry; movie tickets; music and videos; office supplies; over-the-counter medicines and personal care; event tickets; pet supplies; sporting goods and apparel; and toys and video games.
This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause ATG's actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Important risk factors affecting ATG's business generally may be found in its periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov. Risk factors related to the subject matter of this press release include the possibility that the ATG product deployment will not be successful, on time or significantly enhance the user's Internet experience or will not increase customer revenue across brands; that those customers leveraging ATG won't have the opportunity to increase revenue and decrease future costs; the need to adapt to rapid changes so products do not become obsolete; the possibility of errors in ATG's software products; the possibility that the solution will not make customer implementations faster or more flexible or permit the customer to meet its customer-facing or infrastructure requirements; that the ATG product will not continue to be integrated with third-party applications servers or will not support all Web services enabled systems; that ATG's product strategy may change in the future; and the risks and costs of intellectual property litigation. ATG undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.
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