TRB Tribune

Retailers Heavily Promoting Flat Panel and LCD TVs as Consumer Interest Shifts Away from Plasmas CHICAGO, Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- ShopLocal(TM), the leader in multi-channel shopping and marketing services, today released the September 2007 results of the ShopLocal Index, reporting a 29 percent year-over-year increase in the retail industry's first market indicator designed to track the influence of the Internet on in-store shopping. The Index, updated monthly, is based on an average of 20 million monthly consumer visits to store promotions that are presented on the sites of 50 major U.S. retailers, including JC Penney, Best Buy, CompUSA, Walgreen's and Home Depot. These retailers cover major retail segments such as Computers, Consumer Electronics, Office Supplies, Home Improvement, Department Stores, Mass Merchants, Grocery, Drug and various specialty stores. September 2007 ShopLocal Index Highlights: -- The overall market Index was up 29 percent year-to-year, increasing from 23 percent in August and 27 percent in July. -- The Food and Drug category was the fastest growing of the five retail categories tracked, up 45 percent year-over-year -- Consumer electronic and mass merchant retailers have increased their promotional listings for large (greater than 40") flat panel televisions by 33 percent year-over-year. -- Consumers have dramatically shifted their attention to LCD TVs over plasma TVs, with page views of LCDs growing 272 percent versus a three percent decline for Plasmas year-over-year. "Retailers recognize that big ticket items like flat panel LCD TVs have long purchase cycles, and shoppers are beginning to look for them now prior to the important holiday shopping days such as Black Friday which is less than four weeks away," said Vikram Sharma, CEO of ShopLocal. "It makes sense that consumers who browse local print circulars are already indicating their desire and intent to buy," said Al Hurlebaus, managing director of Marketing and Advertising for CompUSA. "But the information provided from online circulars enables us to better understand consumer shopping behaviors and provide an enhanced buying experience." "Our September results show the growing use of the Internet to drive shoppers to local stores," continued Sharma. "The Web continues to be both a popular channel for purchasing, with ecommerce expected to increase 18 percent this year, and an even stronger channel for marketing and researching in-store offers, as indicated by the 29 percent increase of the ShopLocal Index." The ShopLocal Index includes hundreds of millions of monthly page views, and, initially benchmarked at 100 for January 2006, reached a seasonal peak of 300 in November 2006. The Index continued to show strong growth in 2007 and, on a cumulative basis, is up 29 percent year-to-date through September versus the same period last year. About ShopLocal ShopLocal, the leader in multi-channel shopping services, offers a complete suite of solutions connecting advertisers and consumers online and in-store. The company's consumer Web site, ShopLocal.com, provides users with choice and control in their shopping experience by offering the most comprehensive selection of timely online and in-store offers on one easy-to-use site. With ShopLocal.com, consumers can find millions of products and up-to-date weekly sales, deals, and coupons for consumer electronics, apparel, groceries and more. ShopLocal's customers include Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, CVS and Sears. ShopLocal powers multi-channel shopping for hundreds of newspaper Web sites and other leading local and shopping sites, such as Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Arizona Republic, Google and SuperPages.com. ShopLocal is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB), and The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI). For more information, visit http://www.aboutshoplocal.com/. Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link. Vikram Sharma http://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=55894 DATASOURCE: ShopLocal CONTACT: Marcy Dockery of ShopLocal, +1-312-768-7523, mdock- Web Site: http://www.aboutshoplocal.com/

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