BIZRATE

BIZRATE IS RANKED #1 AS THE SHOPPING SITE WITH THE BEST BUYERS --
New data from comScore reveals BizRate is the best at attracting serious buyers --

Los Angeles, May 21, 2001 - Unlike many Internet companies that have pursued growth at any cost, BizRate.com's strategy, which focuses on acquiring quality consumers - not just quantity - is proving to be the way to drive sustainable growth in ecommerce.

Validating that BizRate.com's "Buyer vs. Browser" online strategy is working, data from comScore's netScore March 2001 Buyer Power Index (BPI) shows BizRate.com's consumers have the most buying power on the Web, with visitors spending more online (6.5 times more) than the average Internet user. Quality begets quantity, as March 2001 data from Jupiter Media Metrix 1 firmly establishes BizRate.com as the biggest retail mall on the Web with 7.0 million unique visitors a month.

"Our mission is to be the best comparison shopping marketplace, which means we provide consumers with the right product, at the right price, and from the right stores. This, in turn, allows us to send real buyers to our merchant partners. A no. 1 BPI ranking is great validation that BizRate.com is serving both its consumers and merchants well. As long as we continue to satisfy our buyers and sellers, our business will continue to grow at a sustainable rate," says Chuck Davis, president and CEO of BizRate.com. The company has already experienced consistent visitor growth, rising from the 78th most trafficked retail site to the third, in just two years.

Kevin Keith, Director of Marketing, Blue Nile, Inc says, "BizRate has been a tremendous source of new customers for us. In addition, it provides the better merchants the opportunity to receive a third-party boost of credibility, which helps their conversion rates."

comScore's netScore is the only service that provides a BPI, through netScore's Traffic and Buying service. The index measures the total dollars spent online by the average member of a site's audience, indexed to the total online dollars spent by the average Internet user. For example, a BPI of 100 represents the baseline index, so a BPI of 200 means the average visitor to that site spends twice as much online as the average Internet user. BizRate.com had the highest (673) BPI, reflecting the heavy online shopping behavior of BizRate.com's visitors.

Magid Abraham, CEO of comScore Networks says, "The BPI index is a revolutionary new measure to help online marketers determine which sites attract the most valuable visitors based on their online spending. Clearly BizRate.com is a poster-child for how to attract serious buyers."

Davis concludes, " What makes BizRate.com so compelling to consumers is that we offer price comparisons in the context of quality of service from merchants. No other site is as thorough or unbiased as BizRate.com in rating sites - both during and after the purchase. The net result is the consumer feels confident when they start their shopping at BizRate.com, and we convert them from browsers into buyers."

By 2005, B2C ecommerce sales are forecasted to reach $278 billion, and comparison shopping engines are expected to influence 9.0%, or $25 billion, of that projection 2.

1. Source: Jupiter Media Metrix, Digital Media Audience Ratings Report - March 2001 data.

2. Source: Winterberry Group's report on "The Impact Of Comparison Shopping Engines On B2C E-Marketer Business Strategies", February 5, 2001.

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About BizRate.com
Founded in 1996 and based in Los Angeles, BizRate.com (www.bizrate.com) is the leading 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, standardized check-out, exclusive deals, "hot" product listings and gift guides to empower consumers to "shop smartly" across 20 popular store categories and more than 1,500 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.