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Study of over 200 Businesses Proves that Searchandising Strategy Makes a Difference in eCommerce

Aberdeen study highlights the benefits of leveraging web site search applications for online merchandising

PLEASANTON, CA, March 6, 2007 - Mercado Software, the leading provider of eCommerce search & merchandising solutions, today announced that the most effective online marketers use what is known as “searchandising” – customizing their search and navigation with merchandising. These findings surfaced in a recent research benchmark report, performed by Aberdeen, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE:HHS) titled, Web Site Search: Revenue in the Results, which is available for free at http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410627&cid=3910.

The research project explored how successful e-retailers can improve comparable year over year sales, maximize customer conversion rates and increase average order value. As search among eCommerce organizations is now ubiquitous, Aberdeen discovered that the big differentiator was the ability to make the online shopping experience more efficient and more gratifying for the customer.

They found that companies that achieved the highest returns from their web site search applications were the ones that merchandised their offers by customizing their search results to fit their specific products or services. The dominant strategy taken by 59% of survey respondents was continuous fine-tuning of search to ensure that customers receive relevant results.

“Ecommerce search applications are innately suited to merchandising, due to their very nature of seeking out products. Yet, 46% of respondents struggle with the proper method to manage this capability,” said John Lovett, research analyst, Aberdeen. “To support this function, there is a growing contingent of vendors providing ‘Searchandising’ tools and techniques for inducing search results to benefit traditional retail merchandising.”

Mercado is recognized as the leader in the searchandising space as they have been able to combine high quality accurate search with the extremely effective and sophisticated merchandising capabilities.

“Like having a trusted eCommerce advisor sitting by your side, our new Mercado 4.0 consolidates 10 years of eCommerce expertise,” said Corey Leibow, president and CEO of Mercado. “Mercado 4.0 increases conversion rates and online revenue using best of breed search and navigation results, SEO/SEM integrated dynamic landing pages, and industry-leading merchandising rules driven by metrics, absolute values, and artful merchandising.”

“Mercado has revolutionized how customers find products on our eCommerce sites – and how we merchandise for optimal sales. The integration of powerful tools, such as web analytics, enables us to do a lot with limited resources. It also allows us to take the guesswork out of executing our online initiatives,” say Brian Beck, CEO of Broadspan Commerce, which operates www.directlyhome.com. “By allowing our marketing staff to view and automatically leverage our business metrics through a single merchandising interface, Mercado 4.0 will allow us to easily validate and automate our merchandising strategies.”

About Mercado Software
Mercado is the leading eCommerce search & merchandising solution specialist for multi-channel retail and B2B organizations. By enabling a superior buying experience and equipping business managers with a powerful platform on which to execute merchandising strategies, online businesses can aggressively grow revenue and foster customer loyalty. Sears Holdings Corp., Guess?, Inc., Williams-Sonoma Inc., OfficeMax, Macy's, ShopNBC, Delightful Deliveries, and Organize.com are some of the companies benefiting from Mercado’s solutions. For more information about Mercado Software, please visit www.mercado.com or call (888) 376-1400.

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to AberdeenTM for insights that drive decisions. As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information – Opportunity – Insight – Engagement – Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to http://www.harte-hanks.com.

Media Contact:
Mark Shapiro
858-573-0736
mshapiro@davismarrin.com

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