Adgregate Markets and ShopLocal Partner to Bring Secure Social Commerce to Nation’s Top Retailers on Facebook
Local marketing promotions go social securely with Adgregate ShopFans™
San Francisco, CA – November 3, 2010 – Today Adgregate Markets, the leader in distributed commerce solutions, and ShopLocal, the retail division of PointRoll, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) and the leader in multi-channel marketing services, announced a strategic partnership that will enable ShopLocal’s retail advertising clients to turn conversations into conversions for millions of active online shoppers on Facebook.
Through the partnership, ShopLocal clients, which include more than one hundred of the nation’s top retailers, can utilize ShopFans™, the world’s most secure social commerce technology. ShopFans allows consumers to make secure purchase transactions directly in Facebook without compromising security and privacy. Adgregate holds the only social commerce technology to be certified by security and privacy heavyweights McAfee and TRUSTe. The offering will be part of ShopLocal’s Facebook Marketers Toolkit, which enables retailers to multiply the power of the local weekly circular with the audience of the world’s largest social network, and connect with shoppers both online and in-store.
Online local advertising is on the upswing and retailers who invest in this burgeoning segment stand to benefit from a largely untapped market. BIA/Kelsey reports that online local advertising will grow to $35 billion by 2014, at which point it will make up 24 percent of a $145 billion market. Increasingly, retailers recognize it is essential to have a presence on social networking sites as users spend more and more quality time on them. In fact, eMarketer identified retail as the leading category followed by U.S. social network users who follow companies/brands on social networks. Additionally, the E-Tailing Group found that 91% of retailers “have” or are “planning to have” a presence on Facebook in 2010.
“With the addition of ShopFans to our Facebook Marketer’s Toolkit we’re able to enhance our clients’ brand while deepening the customer-client relationship,” said Vikram Sharma, CEO of ShopLocal. “As retailers look to integrate highly personalized, targeted versions of their local weekly newspaper circulars, deals and coupons into their Facebook pages, converting valuable impressions to secure transactions directly within Facebook are appealing and now available.”
ShopFans enables users to transact securely and confidently with retailers within tailored virtual circulars and display ads, without ever leaving Facebook, providing an unparalleled secure ecommerce experience for the user and a competitive edge for advertisers. Adgregate’s ShopFans enables ShopLocal’s retail clients to measure the entire shopping experience, from purchase intent to purchase conversions, for all users.
“For true, measurable, social shopping to exist, brands need a holistic solution which ties directly into all of the Facebook social hooks, allows users to shop without ever leaving Facebook, and provides a secure ecommerce experience,” said Henry Wong, CEO Adgregate. “We’re excited to partner with ShopLocal to help their clients, local retailers, maximize each impression and every Facebook conversation by providing secure ecommerce transactions within Facebook.”
About Adgregate Markets
Adgregate Markets is the leading provider of secure advertising and distributed commerce solutions. ShopAdsTM guide prospective customers from the point of discovery to the point of purchase entirely within innovative online and mobile ads. ShopFansTM takes social shopping on Facebook and micro-sites to a new level. SecureAdsTM are the world’s most secure ads for customer engagement. Adgregate is a privately held company based in the San Francisco Bay Area and is venture-backed by leading investors. Adgregate has received numerous industry awards for its innovative advertising technology, including Techcrunch50 Finalist and AlwaysOn OnMedia 100 Winner, recognizing the top private companies in digital media and advertising. For additional information, please visit www.adgregate.com.
About ShopLocal
ShopLocal, the retail division of PointRoll, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is the leader in multi-channel marketing services, offering a complete suite of innovative digital solutions that connect advertisers and consumers – online and in-store. ShopLocal’s industry-leading SmartProduct business solutions (SmartCircular, SmartCatalog and SmartDelivery) enable more than one hundred of the nation’s top retailers, including Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, CVS, Albertsons and Sears, to deliver highly interactive, targeted and localized promotions to shoppers through online circulars, display advertising, search, social media, digital out of home and mobile. www.AboutShopLocal.com.
Adgregate Media Contact:
Jessie Morgan
(408) 838-0143
media@adgregate.com
ShopLocal Media Contact:
Julian McBride
Horn Group for PointRoll/ShopLocal
(646) 202-9755
julian.mcbride@horngroup.com
