New IBM Software Enriches Online Shopping

Allows Retailers to offer a more personalized shopping experience and extend
reach to customers worldwide

ARMONK, N.Y., Nov. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today
announced new software that delivers a personalized and more interactive
shopping experience for the exploding population of mobile users worldwide.
The software incorporates new social networking capabilities and the ability
for retailers to reach consumers with personalized promotions, coupons and
other content, regardless of how or where the customer chooses to shop with
them.

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Advancements in mobile devices are reshaping the way customers interact with
brands, expanding beyond mere information exchange to true online commerce.
Increasingly, the beneficiaries of this growth are online retailers. According
to independent research firm, Forrester Research, Inc., consumer retail sales
from websites is projected to reach $211.7 billion by 2012 in the United
States alone, up from $125.1 billion in 2007.*

The new software underscores IBM's commitment to the mobile space. In June,
the company announced a five-year, $100 million research initiative aimed at
improving mobile services and capabilities for businesses and consumers
worldwide.

Automating the Mobile Shopping Experience

To meet this demand, IBM is introducing WebSphere Commerce 7, a new release of
its industry-leading e-commerce software that enhances the shopping experience
for mobile consumers. The new IBM Mobile Store solution improves the shopping
experience from start to finish, enabling customers to more easily browse an
online store, conduct side-by-side product comparisons, then view store
locations, check inventory availability and complete the purchase.

Shoppers can even place orders online and pick up their merchandise at the
closest store -- which can be automatically mapped out for them on their
mobile phone. With the new IBM technology, retailers can also instantly
deliver timely, relevant and personalized brand information and promotions,
based on past purchases, to a customer's mobile device through text messages
or e-mail.

Emerging Markets

According to IBM's Institute for Business Value, the number of mobile users
will grow by 191 percent from 2006 to 2011 to reach approximately one billion
users worldwide.** These numbers are being driven by people in both
industrialized as well as developing nations. Because broadband access remains
difficult in many places, hand-held devices are often the only means of access
to the Web.

Li-Ning, China's leading sports brand, has experienced steady growth in online
sales since launching its e-commerce site in 2008. With e-commerce largely
untapped in China, Li-Ning has become a pioneer by embracing IBM technology,
which helps its customers view top-selling merchandise and detailed product
information on a homepage they can easily customize.

Li-Ning intends to expand beyond these basic functions to take advantage of
IBM's new commerce software, which will allow customers to access its site
through cellphones and other hand-held devices. The company plans to more
easily connect with their customers so that they can deliver personalized
content, promotions and other information. Li-Ning also intends to pursue the
newest trend in online commerce -- reaching customers through social
networking sites.

"Chinese consumers are just beginning to appreciate the benefits of shopping
online," said Shelly Lin, Director of e-Business at Li-Ning Company Limited.
"Mobile commerce is the next wave of opportunity for us. Working with IBM
WebSphere Commerce, we are intent on pursuing a strategy that helps us connect
with shoppers that is advantageous to both us and our customers."

Using Online Social Networks to Help Sell

IBM's new software allows retailers to more effectively leverage the growing
influence of online social networks, bringing brand and product discussions
back to the retailer's site and converting them into transactions.

For example, with one click a product review or blog post with a link back to
the retailer's site can automatically be sent to Facebook or other social
networking sites. Online sellers can augment their brand experience further
with rich content that includes ratings and reviews and threaded discussions
with photo sharing.

Sam Ash, a leading retailer of musical instruments and DJ equipment, is using
WebSphere Commerce to drive the customer's online experience, using it as a
base to provide customer-provided ratings and reviews. It is finding success
combining this feature with performance simulations of products they sell. For
example, they created a "virtual cymbal room" where shoppers can test the
actual sound of cymbals the company sells.

"By using IBM's WebSphere Commerce, Sam Ash.com has been able to enhance the
shopping experience in ways that we never believed were possible," said David
Ash, CEO at Sam Ash.com. "We want to provide our online customers with more
ways to research and virtually test drive our products online. Our site has
proven that it resonates well with shoppers."

The mobile and social commerce aspects are enhanced further through another
new IBM capability called Cross-Channel Precision Marketing, which gives
retailers the ability to understand customer buying behaviors and respond by
delivering targeted promotions or other content instantly. For example, if an
online buyer abandons a sale before checkout, a coupon or other incentive
could be immediately forwarded to the shopper's mobile device to help revive
the transaction. A shopper who is using their mobile phone while at a store to
research a product could be similarly targeted, as could someone reviewing a
product on the retailer's site. This lets retailers establish an ongoing and
dynamic relationship with their customers and tailor responses as the
customer's behavior changes over time.

"New sales channels and points of interaction now define and fragment the
consumers' retail journey, forcing companies to change the way they market,
build relationships and deliver brand value," said Beth Smith, vice president
of WebSphere at IBM. "WebSphere Commerce is designed to help retailers around
the world execute marketing campaigns and build rich customer relationships
that span sales channels and interaction models."

WebSphere Commerce 7 also has enhancements that better address the needs of
businesses selling to other businesses online, through a new Web 2.0-based B2B
store solution. This features a fast product finder, mini shopping cart, drag
and drop shopping capability and the ability to manage multiple saved orders.
Traditional B2B sites are cumbersome to use and often require customer service
calls to complete sales. As e-commerce becomes an increasingly important sales
channel for businesses, the IBM B2B store solution delivers rich B2C-like
features to business customers while supporting contracts, advanced
procurement options and a more streamlined checkout process.

WebSphere Commerce comes with and leverages the strength of the IBM WebSphere
Application Server and DB2 to attain high transaction volumes, reliable, and
highly available operation as well as the integration to back-end systems and
applications using SOA interfaces. WebSphere Commerce 7 includes new
out-of-the-box integrations to social networking offerings such as IBM Lotus
Connections, Bazaarvoice and Pluck SiteLife.

Recognized as an industry leader, IBM® WebSphere® Commerce software provides
companies of all sizes with a powerful customer interaction platform for
cross-channel and online commerce, supporting all of a company's business
models while providing a rich, differentiated customer experience. Powerful
out-of-the-box capabilities for marketing, catalog management and
merchandising help companies revolutionize customer shopping experiences
across all sales channels from online and call centers to mobile and in-store.
More information is available at www.ibm.com/websphere/commerce.

IBM WebSphere Commerce 7 is immediately available starting at about $30,000
for 100 Processor Value Units (PVUs).

Footnotes:
* Forrester Research, "State of Retailing Online 2009: Marketing" by Sucharita
Mulpuru, June 5, 2009.
**IBM Institute of Business Value, "Go Mobile, Grow" by Christian Seider, Sean
Lafferty and Dr. Sungyoul Lee, 2008.
http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/gbs/bus/pdf/gbe03051-usen-03_gomobile.pdf

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Related Link
WebSphere Commerce 7 Product Page

Contact:
Rebecca Mettler
IBM Media Relations
760-946-2760
rmettle@us.ibm.com

SOURCE IBM Corporation

Rebecca Mettler, IBM Media Relations, +1-760-946-2760, rmettle@us.ibm.com