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RadioShack Re-Launches E-Commerce Web Site for Enhanced Customer Experience

Posted on: Wednesday, 26 October 2005, 09:00 CDT

FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Online consumer electronics shoppers should find RadioShack Corporation's re- tooled e-commerce Web site to be a fresh new companion to the company's 5,000 stores. RadioShack.com offers an extensive "virtual" online assortment of products and brand name consumer electronic products, some of which are available only online. The site also provides superior shopping assistance in the form of detailed product specifications, product comparison grids, c|net Buying Guides, and even unbiased customer product ratings and reviews to assist customers in their decision-making process.

Debuting to the public today, RadioShack.com features a clean new branded layout designed to load quickly on virtually all computer systems. The underlying strategy is to help the company leverage its multi-channel, consultative approach to consumer electronics purchases, as well as support the continuing consumer trend toward e-commerce shopping in general.

"We looked at best practices in terms of content, search, browse, assortment and even multi-channel integration," said Stu Asimus, RadioShack's senior vice president and chief channel operations officer. "We also considered that study after study of online shoppers reveals people consider the critical areas of performance for Web sites to be simple navigation and search, easy checkout and limited downtime, especially during peak traffic periods. Not only does the new RadioShack.com answer all those questions, it delivers a clean and crisp online shopping experience that helps emulate the consultative and knowledgeable environment our 5,000 stores offer to customers in neighborhoods across the U.S."

According to RadioShack's Vice President of Web Channels, Steve Duchelle, the launch timing of RadioShack.com during the important 4th quarter retail sales period is ideal. He said the more robust site, with an ever-expanding assortment in key product categories, will ultimately help the company achieve its goal of capturing its fair share of overall online consumer electronics sales, which experts predict will reach more than $16 billion, or about 22 percent of the total CE sales by 2010.

Examples of what Duchelle calls RadioShack's new "virtual aisle" include anything a customer can find in a brick-and-mortar RadioShack store, including such new items as MP3 players, printers, digital cameras, camcorders, video games and accessories. However, Duchelle said while the company will take advantage of the expanded aisle to offer customers a more robust selection of consumer electronic products, it will still be very discriminating in offering only what it considers to be the right products to fulfill customers wants and needs.

The c|net Buying Guides are particularly important to the site because they'll contain the latest in product information for the most popular product CE categories. These well-known guides by the leading publisher of technology news and information will help arm customers with the information they need to make fully informed and satisfying purchases.

"We conducted multiple surveys and usability studies trying to better understand customer wants and needs online," Duchelle said. "We partnered with GSI Commerce, a leading provider of e-commerce solutions, for their e- commerce technology and customer care services and Blast Radius, a customer experience innovation firm, for the design of the online experience. The result, we believe, is a much-improved online shopping experience for RadioShack customers and store employees. Sales associates can access RadioShack.com to offer in-store customers an expanded assortment of products to meet customer needs."

Duchelle said the new site navigation and content is based on the customers' view of products and services rather than a traditional merchants' view. The site will allow customers to review and track their order history, register online, create and email wish lists, receive back-in-stock e-mails for out of stock merchandise, shop at boutique stores-within-a-store such as the clearance center, and even purchase and redeem gift cards online. Customers can access the site from home or in stores, and products ordered online will be delivered directly to their home. In addition, RadioShack will offer both English and Spanish 1-800 sales and support assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

About RadioShack

Fort Worth, Texas-based RadioShack Corporation, is the nation's most trusted consumer electronics specialty retailer and a growing provider of business-to-business retail support services. The company operates a vast network of sales channels, including: nearly 7,000 company-owned and dealer stores; over 100 RadioShack locations in Mexico; and over 700 wireless kiosks. RadioShack's knowledgeable and helpful sales associates deliver convenient product and service solutions within five minutes of where 94 percent of all Americans either live or work. For more information on RadioShack Corporation, visit http://www.radioshackcorporation.com/ . To learn more about RadioShack products and services or to purchase items online, visit http://www.radioshack.com/ .

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000518/DATH047LOGOAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/PRN Photo Desk photodesk@prnewswire.com

RadioShack Corporation

CONTACT: Charles Hodges of RadioShack Corporation, +1-817-415-3300

Web site: http://www.radioshackcorporation.com/http://www.radioshack.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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