This is a news release and accompanying pitch sample for a campaign I worked on while with Extraprise. We created a study that looked at return policies of online retailers in the first Christmas that people were buying online. We had tremendous media response, including from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Associated Press and MSNBC.

1. From: Anne Potts [apotts@extraprise.com]
Sent: Monday, December 18, 2000 4:39 PM
To: linda_himelstein@businessweek.com
Subject: E-Returns 2000: What can online shoppers expect this year?
Linda:
My company, Extraprise, has issued a study of the online returns policies of the Top 50 online
retailers. "E-Returns in Season 2000," is a second-annual research project that foretells what
January will hold for the online shopper looking to make a merchandise return or exchange. I
hope this research might help you with a story you're writing or planning to write.
Extraprise offers a caution to this year's online buyer: Caveat Dator, or "giver beware." By this we
mean that it may seem easy to buy online, but when you have to exchange that toy or return the
sweater, do shoppers realize what they'll be up against?
Our analysts are able to:
· advise online shoppers on how to identify which online retailers are likely to provide the best e-
returns service
· offer a report card of the leaders and laggarts in this area
· talk to the pitfalls and advantages of the dot.com and click-and-mortar business model
· speak to the policies of these 50 sites, and
· describe how this year's landscape differs from 1999
I've attached our press release and would be happy to send you a copy of the study. Please
contact me by phone at 617 880 4176 or by reply email.
Happy Holidays.
Anne Potts, Extraprise
****************************************************************************
For Immediate Release
ONLINE HOLIDAY SHOPPERS: DO YOU KNOW WHERE AND WHAT YOUR RETURNS
POLICY IS?
Extraprise Warns Caveat Dator...Giver Beware
Boston, Mass - December 18, 2000 - Extraprise, a leading e-services consulting firm, today
released the findings of its annual research project with a report titled, "E-Returns in Season
2000." This research surveyed merchandise returns policies of 50 leading online retailing sites
as an indicator of the level of customer service provided by these retailers. According to
Extraprise, most online retailers are still missing the mark in customer support.
Key Findings
· 48% do not explicitly assign responsibility for the cost of returning defective goods or inaccurate
shipments.
· 69% of the Web sites operated by the Top 50 online retailers do not have a provision for
shoppers to return goods to a brick-and-mortar location.
· 77% do not have a link to the company's returns policy from the homepage.
· 53% do not provide a phone number on the returns page for shoppers' returns-related inquiries.

2. Advice for This Year's Online Shoppers
Extraprise sees several trends in this year's survey:
· When sorting out returns issues, many consumers seeking assistance will not find easy to go
"offline" to a live person. Half of the shopping sites surveyed provide no customer service phone
number on their returns pages.
· Do you know whether you are responsible for shipping costs on returns of defective or
incorrectly shipped goods? Half of the Top 50 sites do not explicitly state their policies, forcing
the consumer to make the inquiry before the purchase or run the risk of paying unwanted fees
later.
· Shoppers should keep an eye out for a lack of standard returns policies posted on portal sites
such as Yahoo!, AOL, MSN or Price Watch Group.
"We have created a new warning for shoppers this year: Caveat Dator, or 'giver beware,'" said
analyst John Roynon of Extraprise. "If the sweater you buy from a dot.com retailer doesn't fit
Uncle Herbert, getting him the right size will cost you. Even with the online retailers we consider
to be strong on service, shipping fees can add up -- it's the nature of their business. We see this
as a major downside to dealing with a dot.com retailer without a brick-and-mortar storefront to
accept returns."
The Report Card
Among the 50 Web sites surveyed, Extraprise has identified those online retailers that offer the
consumer the best returns experience and those that are missing this customer relationship
builder.
Extraprise has found that Eddie Bauer, Old Navy, Baby Center and eToys provided the best
combination of accessible returns information, brick-and-mortar returns locations and access to
live assistance with returns issues.
Yahoo!, PriceWatch Group and abc distributing, based on study results, fared the worst. These
sites do not provide clear access to returns information, forcing the shopper to sleuth out the
returns process.
"Online retailing has come a long way since last year, but online retailers are still missing it when
it comes to customer service. There is no excuse for companies that fail to provide a clear online
link to a returns policy or a phone number to call with any questions - these are key elements of a
customer relationship, and missing that link to the customer is a big mistake," said program
manager David Hybels of Extraprise.
A Look Back to 1999
With the consolidation of the dot.com sector, the online retailing industry has taken a new
direction. Today, nearly half of the Top 50 sites have a direct marketing history, and two-thirds
are click and mortar companies.
"After last year's holiday season, where companies were under fire for missing deliveries, the
focus is on getting the first half of the transaction 'right.' We believe that the bar will be set even
higher this year, and that companies need to look at the entire transaction, which ends only when
the customer is satisfied," added Hybels.
"Winners" identified in last year's Extraprise study, "The Season of Returns": J Crew, The Gap,
LL Bean, Land's End, Staples, Amazon and Drugstore.com, all appear in the NRF Top 50
Internet Retailers list.

3. Extraprise labeled Barnes and Noble as "didn't get it" in the 1999 study. In addition to landing
among the Top 10 of the NRF's list, Extraprise found that Barnes and Noble has dramatically
improved its approach to returns in the past year. Now operating both its online and offline
businesses as an integrated model, shoppers are able to return online purchases to any Barnes
and Noble store, and also check the Barnes and Noble site from in-store kiosks.
Scope of research
For this study, Extraprise surveyed the returns policies of the Top 50 Internet retailers as ranked
by the National Retail Federation in September 2000. Considered were the ease with which an
online shopper can find a returns policy and whether the shopper was clearly provided with an
additional communications channel, such as a phone number, to use in addressing any returns-
related concerns. The report includes detailed coverage of each of the Top 50 online retailers'
returns policies.
For a copy of "E-Returns in Season 2000," or to learn more about Extraprise's advisory and
research services, please call David Winterhalter at 617 880 4017.
###
About Extraprise
Extraprise is an international e-services firm that empowers clients with innovative growth
strategies that span online and offline channels. The company delivers strategy, creative and
technology solutions to major corporations worldwide. Extraprise has its headquarters in Boston,
with offices in Amsterdam, Chicago, Dallas, London, New York, San Francisco and Washington,
DC. Extraprise is on the Web at www.extraprise.com.
Extraprise is a registered trademark of Extraprise Group, Inc.
For further details please contact:
Anne Potts, Extraprise Public Relations
617 880 4176
apotts@extraprise.com