Public Eye expands its consumer intelligence services to online retailers.

Los Angeles, CA. -- March 17, 1999 -- Consumer intelligence agents a new breed of infomediary specializing in customer satisfaction data, are set to play a pivitol role in the ecommerce revolution. Public Eye, (www.epubliceye.com) the largest aggregator of consumer satisfaction data on small and medium sized Internet companies, announced today that it will begin to offer its members a menu of services called eConsumer Intelligence(tm) . The new offerings will take the form of merchant specific transaction summaries and aggregate industry wide ecommerce metrics. The move marks a significant milestone in the shifting relationship between Internet buyers and sellers, and a reshaping of the notion of consumer protection.

"In the context of ePublicEye, eConsumer Intelligence means knowledge about online shopping experiences gleaned directly from actual customer-merchant transactions. Since 1996 we have been refining Public Eye's ability to leverage 'collective consumer intelligence' to empower both consumers and merchants. It's taken almost 4 years, but we now have a program that has demonstrated its ability to help build trust between Internet merchants and Internet consumers with unprecedented speed and efficiency," said Errol Smith co-founder of Public Eye.

eConsumer Intelligence is a term created by Public Eye to define the kind of transactional consumer information Public Eye collects and distributes. eConsumer Intelligence includes everything from how a merchant honors their return policy, how rapidly the merchant responds to email, to how easily a decision maker can be reached in the event of a service failure. This information collected from actual customers is clearly valuable to prospective customers, but when provided to merchants, it potentially transforms rude customer interfaces into learning exchanges.

Typically called customer feedback or consumer experience, it is the Internet's distribution efficiencies and Public Eye's Open Customer Satisfaction Reporting system that endows eConsumer Intelligence with the power to protect consumers, enlighten marketers, and chasten derelict merchants in one swoop. "When past customers, prospective customers, and merchants, all have instant access to collective customer feedback, the speed of buying decisions, marketing decisions, and self regulation is dramatically accelerated," said Smith. The net result is safer, more satisfying online commerce.

Acting as trusted infomediaries, consumer intelligence agents are poised to radically reshape the consumer-merchant landscape through efficient, fluid information exchange, that flows in all directions, and empowers all parties to the transaction. The operative word however is trust. Consumer intelligence agents will have to first earn the trust of both consumers and merchants, before they can fully assume the role of an enabler in the network economy.

In the past 3-1/2 years Public Eye has established itself as a trusted infomediary, helping shoppers increase their comfort level with lesser known Internet merchants, while assisting small to mid-sized merchants to establish trust in their brand. With over 7000 registered merchants and hundreds of new merchants signing up daily, Public Eye is the first and most used service of its kind in cyberspace.

As a result, Public Eye is redefining the model of consumer protection in cyberspace. By leveraging the efficiencies of the Internet and the power of consumer intelligence, Public Eye has been able to reduce the transaction costs typically associated with the consumer protection process. "The rules of consumer protection have not been rewritten in almost a hundred years. Today, virtually every dimension of the conventional consumer protection model can be executed more efficiently by exploiting the power of the Web. From informing consumers, to processing complaints, and mediating disputes Internet technology has opened some new possibilities, but it requires a willingness to think out of the box " said Smith.

Pioneers in the use of consumer feedback to promote safer e-commerce, Public Eye has maintained a narrow focus on building e-consumer confidence among small to mid-sized Intenet merchants. As the only aggregator of customer satisfaction data in this market segment, Public Eye is uniquely positioned to play a key roll in the e-commerce revolution.

For more information Contact Belinda Winn at 818/547-0222 or wms@epubliceye.com ePublicEye at http://www.epubliceye.com