MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (December 11, 1997) -- Netscape Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: NSCP) today announced that its Netscape Netcenter online service now has a new commerce section called Netcenter Marketplace in time for the holiday season. Netcenter Marketplace, announced in late October and live on the Netscape Internet site today, includes music from N2K's Music Boulevard, access to discount products from CUC International's netMarket, more than 800 software products from more than 220 leading developers through Netscape Software Depot by software.net, and logo products and Netscape software through the Netscape Store. In addition, Netcenter Marketplace plans to include books from Amazon.com.
Netscape plans to expand Marketplace with electronic categories of products and services such as computers, office supplies, gifts and travel in addition to books, music, software and discount products. Netscape also announced today that Netcenter has, just three months after launch, surpassed a milestone of more than two million members. The new Netcenter Marketplace includes a number of key value-added member services including:
Over the next few months, Netscape also plans to roll out additional features such as a gift/reminder service that will help users remember to purchase gifts for important upcoming events and will assist them in choosing special gifts for these occasions.
"Our new Marketplace demonstrates that Netscape continues to innovate, providing members with security features when purchasing within Marketplace and providing access to special deals and promotions," said Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Netscape's Web site. "With Marketplace, we have taken our success at selling software online and expanded it to include top brand items. The launch of Marketplace is another important step in delivering to the millions of Netscape Internet site visitors one-stop access to the online information, services and products they need. In addition, we are seeing tremendous momentum for Netcenter, surpassing more than two million members just three months after launch."
Netcenter's Marketplace provides users with the opportunity to purchase both business productivity tools as well as "time saver" items. Amazon.com and N2K's Music Boulevard will give users access to two of the most popular online merchandise items - books and music - conveniently from Netscape's online service. As the exclusive bookseller for Netcenter Marketplace, Amazon.com is creating a special co-branded storefront to provide users with fast and easy access to Amazon.com's 2.5 million book titles and its comprehensive search and browse features. In addition, the company plans to feature book titles, editorial content and sales promotions created specifically for Netscape Netcenter members.
N2K's Music Boulevard is featured as the exclusive music partner for Netcenter Marketplace, providing members with a co-branded version of Music Boulevard, which includes more than 200,000 compact discs and cassettes and the Internet's largest selection of sound samples spanning every music genre. Through Marketplace, users can now search, sample and purchase Music Boulevard's vast selection of music titles as well as related products, and access its family of content-rich music genre sites. Users can also download individual music tracks using the Music Boulevard e_mod system. The service will also feature editorial content and sales promotions created specifically for Netscape Netcenter members.
Marketplace will also offer discounted goods and services via netMarket, a value-oriented membership-based consumer site operated by CUC International, Inc. (NYSE: CU). netMarket features over one million brand name products and services ranging from consumer electronics and office products, to travel packages and automobiles. Netcenter members can purchase a trial membership for just one dollar for a three-month period to gain access to netMarket's comprehensive database.
In the Software section of Marketplace, users can access Netscape Software Depot by software.net to purchase third-party products or the Netscape Store to purchase Netscape software and logo products. Coinciding with the launch of Marketplace, Software Depot is unveiling a new evaluation store this week to offer users the ability to "try before you buy" - which means that, with the click of a button, users can download software from a Software Depot merchant to test before purchasing. The evaluation store is powered by technology from Preview Software (previewsoft.com). Software Depot, a key Netcenter program, was launched in September with third-party software from 100 developers and has already expanded to include more than 800 products from more than 220 developers.
"With our history as one of the largest distributors of software on the Internet, Netscape is committed to providing Internet users with a simple way to shop for the entire line of Netscape software as well as leading-edge third-party products," Bailey added. "With hundreds of partner products and features such as 'try before you buy,' Netscape is delivering an easy online shopping experience for busy professionals."
Netscape Netcenter, launched in September, has gained more than one million members in the past three months, adding to its million initial members from pre-existing programs which are now part of Netcenter. Netcenter enables business users to access and personalize online business resources easily from one central location. With its new Marketplace section, Netcenter is now organized into four major sections: Content, Community, Software and Commerce.
Netscape Communications Corporation is a leading provider of open software for linking people and information over enterprise networks and the Internet. The company offers a full line of clients, servers, development tools and commercial applications to create a complete platform for next-generation, live online applications. Traded on Nasdaq under the symbol "NSCP," Netscape Communications Corporation is based in Mountain View, California.
Additional information on Netscape Communications Corporation is available on the Internet at http://home.netscape.com, by sending email to info@netscape.com or by calling 650/937-2555 (corporations) or 650/937-3777 (individuals).
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