Holiday Gift-Givers Can Save Serious Money by Shopping on the Web - Where the Best Deals Are This Season

MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2000 12:56:00 PM EST

NEW YORK, Dec 4, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- This holiday season, the best shopping deals are online -- as the majority of major online stores offer coupons and rebates that are worth up to half off of purchases, according to WhenU.com. But those deals are extremely hard to find -- without a little help.

"Our proprietary research shows that the Web is where the real values are this holiday season. Because of the competitive pressures online retailers are feeling, there is a tremendous amount of coupons and rebates out there -- on everything from big-ticket items like PCs to stocking stuffers like candy," said Avi Naider, CEO of WhenU.com, the providers of WhenUShop, a free software tool for consumers that takes the headaches out of online shopping by making it easier to take advantage of special deals, avoid late deliveries, know critical site data up-front and basically shop online more quickly and effectively.

"But consumers need an online shopping assistant -- almost a local guide to escort you quickly and effectively around the Turkish bazaar -- to find these deals. WhenUShop is that guide," Mr. Naider added.

WhenU.com data suggest that the major online retailers are going all out this shopping season to drive traffic into their virtual stores:

• Almost 60% of major online retailers are offering coupons and/or rebates that can save shoppers anywhere from 5% to 50% off their purchases *
  
• 44% of online retailers offer percentage rebates on all purchases through online rebate services
  
• 36% of online retailers distribute generic coupon codes and links to drive traffic
  

"Unfortunately, most people don't know where to find these coupons and rebates. One of the greatest features of the WhenUShop tool is that it helps online shoppers locate the best deals and values -- and in the process, saves consumers time and leaves more money in their pockets," Mr. Naider said. When a shopper visits any one of the 350 top online retail sites (from Amazon.com to Wine.com), WhenUShop automatically launches and immediately alerts the shopper to any special deals that may exist for that particular site. And WhenUShop goes far beyond simply alerting the shopper to coupons and special deals: WhenUShop also provides instant snapshots of a site's shipping costs, sales tax policy, privacy policy, security features and gift services.

WhenUShop is not a web site, but rather a free software tool for online consumers that loads in less than one minute at WhenU.com. This online shopping assistant standardizes and streamlines the online shopping experience, providing vital data immediately to the shopper on unexpected and "hidden costs" and other hard-to-find customer service information. WhenUShop appears next to the Web browser as a slim, unobtrusive toolbar that appears automatically when users visit online shopping sites -- and disappears when they go to non-retail sites. Importantly, WhenUShop is unaffiliated with any retailer or portal.

For more information, go to WhenU.com, and download WhenUShop. Or contact Elizabeth Case at Sommerfield Communications, Inc. [Elizabeth@sommerfield.com or 212-255-8386] to talk to the creators of WhenU.com and WhenUShop.

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