Press Releases

PETCO.com Wins First Annual eTail 2003 Award for Search Optimization

Coremetrics Simultaneously Tracks Over 5,000 Keywords to Enable Leading Pet Retailer to Dynamically Shift Media Spending From Low to High Revenue Keyword Placements

Coremetrics™, the leading provider of marketing analytics solutions, today announced that PETCO was awarded the first eTail 2003 Award for optimal use of search optimization at the 9th Annual eTail conference held August 11-14 in Boston, MA. The leading specialty retailer of premium pet food, supplies and services was recognized for their innovative use of the Coremetrics Marketing Management Center to analyze the revenue results of individual search terms and reallocate media spending towards the most productive keyword placements. With detailed analysis of keyword performance from Coremetrics, PETCO was able to reduce acquisition costs per new customer while boosting order volume and increasing gross margin contribution. The annual eTail conference is widely recognized as the premier venue for multi-channel retailers to learn hard facts, share excellent case studies and gather world-class business-critical information.

The First Annual eTail Awards allowed leaders in the industry to judge strategic initiatives in six distinct categories: CRM; Search Optimization; Email Marketing; Web Analytics; Fulfillment; and Visualization. All eTail 2003 award nominees were scored based upon vision and strategy; creativity of the initiative; and demonstration of strong ROI. Judges in the Search Optimization category were seeking an example of the optimal utilization of this critical piece of the eCommerce puzzle, and PETCO was named the winner for their revolutionary approach to optimizing marketing investment decisions.

"We are very focused on tying all online marketing expenditures to real ROI in the form of revenue and gross margin contribution from product sales," said Heather Blank, director of eCommerce & business development at PETCO. "Our ability to continually optimize our keywords based upon detailed revenue performance data from Coremetrics is a win for the marketing organization, and the company as a whole. We are pleased that eTail and their panel of esteemed judges has recognized PETCO as a company forging new paths in search optimization."

In the Fall of 2002, the PETCO eCommerce department was challenged by management to significantly grow holiday revenues by developing a search engine campaign that would drive sales from first-time shoppers. PETCO rapidly scaled the company's search term purchases from 25 to more than 5,000 keywords and leveraged the Coremetrics Marketing Management Center to track revenue results of all keyword purchases at an individual level. Based on analysis from Coremetrics, PETCO was able to dynamically adjust bidding by increasing investments in keywords that generated high revenue per click, and lowering investments for keywords generating low revenue per click. This strategy enabled PETCO to reduce acquisition costs per new customer while boosting order volume and increasing gross margin contribution.

"In today's economy, marketing departments are being asked to do more with less," said Scott Kauffman, chairman of Coremetrics. "PETCO's use of the Marketing Management Center is a prime example of how companies can leverage LIVE Profile data to optimize media expenditures and positively impact the bottom line. The eTail 2003 award is meant to honor the most visionary retailers, and we are pleased that PETCO was recognized as a clear leader in making the most efficient use of limited marketing dollars."

Judges of the eTail 2003 Awards were Ken Seiff, CEO of Bluefly.com; Patrick O'Neill, general manager of Nike.com; Lorna Borenstein, vice president and general manager of eBay; Scott Bauhofer, senior vice president of Best Buy; Dave Towers, vice president of eCommerce at J. Crew; Michael Crotty, executive vice president of Neiman Marcus; Lawrence Becker, vice president of New Media at Crutchfield; and David Berkowitz, editor at eMarketer.

About PETCO
PETCO.com offers more than 7,000 products online, including specialty items not found in PETCO stores, and delivers to all 50 states plus APO and FPO boxes. PETCO.com also offers scheduled home delivery service of popular items like pet food and cat litter through their "Bottomless Bowl" program. PETCO (NASDAQ - PETC) is a leading specialty retailer of premium pet food, supplies and services, with a commitment to quality animal care and education. It operates more than 635 neighborhood stores in 43 states and the District of Columbia.

About Coremetrics
Coremetrics is the leading provider of online marketing analytics solutions, empowering companies to develop and act upon a comprehensive understanding of all visitor and customer interactions within their online channels. The company services over 150 unique brands online and was recently named the sole market leader in an industry report on Web analytics conducted by Forrester Research. Coremetrics Marketforce is the industry's only online marketing 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. Coremetrics Marketforce enables online marketers, IT officers, and e-commerce executives to attract and convert high value visitors, optimize shopping path design, and increase customer lifetime value. The company's clients include Ann Taylor, Bank of America, The Columbia House Company, CompUSA, Eddie Bauer, Motorola, Nortel Networks, Victoria's Secret, and Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Coremetrics is headquartered in Burlingame, California with offices in Austin, Texas and Portland, Oregon. The company is privately held with funding from Accel Partners and Highland Capital Partners. To learn more about Coremetrics, visit the company's Web site at http://www.coremetrics.com or call 877-721-CORE.

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