AT&T WorldNet Service officials hope its deal Monday with Inktomi Corp. will
avoid a repeat of last year’s industry-wide holiday e-commerce letdown and
net the Internet service provider a large percentage of this season’s
expected $11 billion online spending frenzy.
Using Inktomi’s Commerce Engine, WorldNet customers will be able to surf the
company’s e-commerce site, dubbed Market Square, free from the worry of slow
download times and unfulfilled orders.
Despite an overall satisfaction rate of 90 percent among 1999 online
shoppers, according to a Jupiter Communications report, only 35 percent said
the experience was positive enough to encourage them to buy more in 2000.
Ed Chatlos, AT&T WorldNet Service vice president and general manager, said
the Inktomi solution solves the problems people experience when online
traffic picks up.
“AT&T is committed to providing our customers with a positive online
shopping experience during the holiday season,” Chatlos said. “The services
provided by Inktomi enabled us to deliver a complete online shopping
experience that can accommodate our increased holiday traffic.”
Inktomi’s commerce solution is a network of more than 250 merchants
participating in its program. The appliance keeps track of billing and
reporting, targets opt-in email marketing tools and sports a new search
function for an advanced compilation of the millions of products offered.
It’s a product WorldNet officials are pinning a lot of its e-commerce hopes,
with a gradual shift from traditional bricks-and-mortar companies to
Internet shopping accounting for an expected 6.3 million shoppers this
holiday season. That’s a 294 percent increase from last year’s visitors,
according to Jupiter.
Ken Cassar, Jupiter Communications senior analyst, said the shift also
reflects the average customer’s evolution in spending habits, from the three
staples of online shopping (books, music and toys) into clothing and shoes.
“Consumers are likely to purchase clothing and shoes online this holiday
season because they are both desirable gifts, and this year, a greater
number of sites are offering a large selection of brand-name apparel,”
Cassar said.
