Cox Interactive Media
(CIM) announced this week it selected Viaweb Inc.’s e-commerce technology for
its online store software.
CIM said Viaweb’s solutions will support its goal of offering a variety of
advertising options to local advertisers in its markets.
CIM City Sites are interactive, multimedia local sites rich in news, community
content and interaction. CIM has local studios in 20 markets that produce city
sites in areas such as Atlanta, Phoenix, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Miami and
San Diego.
CIM said it wants to be able to provide local advertisers with a way to
easily
establish an online store in a cost-effective manner. Financial terms of the
licensing deal were not disclosed.
“Many of our advertisers are interested in selling on the Internet,” said
Peter Winter, president of Cox Interactive Media. “They recognize the obvious
potential of Internet transactions–and the complex marketing and
operational challenges they pose. Viaweb Store is a secure, cost effective
and easy-to use tool which we can deploy across our network very quickly.”
Using Viaweb’s apps, merchants can get measurable statistics on the success of
their online stores, including a graph of sales, page views and Web traffic
for their online store, plus secure online ordering and tracking.
“Most small and medium-sized businesses have not yet begun to take advantage
of the Web as a sales channel,” said Cambridge, MA-based Viaweb’s president,
Paul Graham. “CIM is in daily contact with these businesses. Now they will be
able to present Viaweb as a proven e-commerce solution.”
CIM, a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., was launched in 1996 with the goal
of building long-term local brands and audiences on the Internet, targeting
key markets where Cox Enterprises operates newspapers, television stations,
radio stations and cable systems,
Viaweb Store claims more than 900 users, including Tweeds, Rolling
Stone, Frederick’s of Hollywood and International Male. Viamall claims to be the busiest Web mall,
with over 9.9 million page views per month.