Bizrate.com Salutes The Best Of The Best E-Tailers With "Circle Of Excellence" Platinum Awards For Holiday 2001

Leading Comparison-Shopping Marketplace Recognizes Very Best Performing E-tailers As Rated By Online Shoppers During The Holidays.

Los Angeles, January 31, 2002 - BizRate.com (www.bizrate.com) announced today its second annual "Circle of Excellence" Platinum awards recognizing 24 of the best of the best e-tailers for their outstanding performance over the critical holiday season. These select awards are based on direct, unbiased feedback from over one million customer surveys – collected at the point-of-sale and after delivery of goods – on over 2,000 merchant sites over the course of the 2001 holiday season.

"In a year when many e-tailers would have been tempted to cut corners on customer satisfaction, we are particularly pleased to pay tribute to the top 1% of merchants who consistently led the industry in superior customer satisfaction during the busiest and most crucial shopping season of the year," said Chuck Davis, president and CEO of BizRate.com. "On behalf of BizRate.com shoppers, I herald these merchants for providing an excellent shopping experience from the moment consumers enter their site to the time when their purchase is delivered promptly on their doorstep. Eight merchants are second time winners, indicating their unrivalled dedication to customer satisfaction.

BizRate.com "Circle of Excellence" Platinum award recipients, listed alphabetically and with categories are:

• Abt Electronics (Electronics).
• Campmor.com (Sporting Goods). A second year winner.
• Carrot’s Ink Cartridges (Office Supplies).
• Christianbook.com (Books & Magazines).
• CircuitCity (Electronics).
• Cooking.com (Home & Garden). A second year winner.
• Crutchfield (Electronics).
• eBags  (Apparel).
• 800 Electronics (Electronics). A second year winner.
• Fossil (Apparel). A second year winner.
• Handspring (Computer Goods). A second year winner.
• NewEgg.com (Electronics).
• PCConnection (Computer Hardware).
• The Perfume Mart  (Health & Beauty).
• Plow & Hearth (Home & Garden).
• Powells.com (Books and Magazines). A second year winner.
• Lenox (Home & Garden).
• Multiwave Direct (Computer Goods). A second year winner.
• QVC (Electronic Retailing).
• REI (Sporting Goods).
• The San Francisco Music Box (Gifts & Flowers).
• Scentiments (Beauty & Health).
• ShopIrish.com (Gifts & Flowers).
• Tower Hobbies (Hobbies & Toys). A second year winner.

Circle of Excellence Methodology be admitted into the win a" Circle of Excellence, " Platinum award, BizRate.com e-tailers must demonstrate outstanding performance during the 2001 holiday season (November 19 - December 25) and achieve a performance rating above the BizRate.com Gold Star average on six service metrics concerning six key satisfaction metrics including:

Industry Average (10-point scale)

1. Ease of ordering: 8.90
2. Product selection and availability: 8.63
3. On-time delivery: 8.76
4. Customer support: 8.32
5. Overall satisfaction: 8.68
6. Loyalty and repurchase intent: 8.65

BizRate.com's marketplace already features more than 2,000 quality, customer-rated online merchants. Gold Star merchants allow themselves to be surveyed at the point of purchase by consumers regarding their online shopping experience. In addition, BizRate.com surveys customers a second time after a purchase has been delivered to better quantify such items as on-time delivery and a customer's intent to return to the merchant in the future. BizRate.com’s POS monitoring system is free of charge to merchants and ratings are unbiased buyer ratings  - to ensure the independence of all ratings.

Circle of Excellence Methodology

In order to be admitted into the Circle of Excellence Platinum award, BizRate.com e-tailers must demonstrate outstanding performance during the 2001 holiday season (November 19 - December 25) and achieve a performance rating above the BizRate.com Gold Star average on six service metrics concerning six key satisfaction metrics including:

"On behalf of BizRate.com shoppers, I congratulate these industry leaders as the best of 2001 for providing an excellent shopping experience from the moment consumers enter their site to the time when their purchase is delivered promptly on their doorstep."

Helen Malani (310) 754-1280, [email protected]
Leslie Barry (310) 754-1186, [email protected]

About BizRate.com

Founded in 1996 and based in Los Angeles, 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. Recently voted one of the “Top 100 Web Site’s for 2001” by PC Magazine, BizRate.com's marketplace offers shoppers 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 2,000 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.

© 2001 Shopzilla, Inc. Shopzilla is a Scripps Networks Interactive company.