Strollers, Diapers, and Breast Pumps Among Thousands of Products Offered By BabyCenter.com's New Online Baby Store

    SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Busy and exhausted new parents can
 now shop online for baby products any time of the day or night with today's
 launch of the BabyCenter.com store. Targeting the $18 billion baby retail
 market, the BabyCenter Store (www.babycenter.com/store) features thousands of
 competitively priced products and supplies, in-depth product information,
 broad gift offerings, and excellent customer service.
     BabyCenter's Webby award-winning Web site, BabyCenter.com, launched last
 November and has quickly become the most complete online information source
 and largest community for new and expectant parents.
     "Time-starved new parents need a better way to peruse and purchase baby
 gear, supplies, and gifts, and the Web is the perfect place for them to look
 for help," explained Matt Glickman, BabyCenter CEO. "The BabyCenter Store's
 extensive product selection, product guides, and gift registry provide
 everything parents, grandparents, other family members, and friends need to
 make informed purchases, and it's open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and
 is accessible from anywhere in the world."
 
     Products and Guidance
     In addition to its broad selection of products, including maternity wear,
 the BabyCenter Store has several special tools and features to make buying
 products easier:
 
     - Interactive personal shopping questionnaires that add up parents'
 specific needs and circumstances to suggest the most appropriate product
 purchases.
     - Dozens of product buying guides with answers to the questions parents
 need to consider before making key product decisions.
     - Feature articles on gearing up for a baby compiled by BabyCenter's
 experienced editorial staff, including comprehensive supply lists for baby's
 first year, tips on bargain hunting for secondhand baby supplies, and a
 product recall database for additional peace of mind.
     - Product recommendations and feedback from consumers integrated through
 bulletin boards on the site and customer comment screens attached to different
 item descriptions. These features take advantage of the broad knowledge and
 experience of BabyCenter's online community of new parents.
 
     Extra Convenience and Customer Service
     With the average American moving more than 11 times during their lifetime
 and many extended families spread across the country, new parents are often
 without extra help and as a result are more in need of the convenience of
 mail-order. The BabyCenter Store also offers several features that make
 shopping for a new mother or baby by out of town relatives easy. For gift
 buyers, the BabyCenter Store has gift guides that offer suggestions for items
 in different price ranges and can also recommend products that match
 characteristics of the intended recipient, including the stage of their
 pregnancy or whether this is a family's first child. The store also provides a
 list of age-appropriate toys. Most items in the store can be gift-wrapped and
 mailed, with a gift card, anywhere in the world, and gift certificates will be
 available for purchase online.
     As the holiday shopping season approaches, a personal baby gift registry
 will be added to the site, as well as a holiday shopping guide to popular toys
 and baby items for 1998.
     The new online store continues BabyCenter's commitment to providing
 privacy and the highest level of security for its audience. All online
 transactions are protected by encryption, and information collected from
 consumers is used only by BabyCenter to make appropriate and timely product
 recommendations and to offer additional promotions and discounts to loyal
 customers.
 
     About BabyCenter
     San Francisco-based BabyCenter is the leading Internet information and
 commerce company serving the $18 billion baby market. The company produces
 BabyCenter.com, the Web's most complete information source on preconception,
 pregnancy, and baby, and operates the BabyCenter Store, an online store
 offering thousands of baby products and supplies. BabyCenter also creates
 pre/post natal health education resources for health organizations. Founded in
 early 1997, the company has grown to be the most recognized online community
 of new and expectant parents. BabyCenter is a privately held, venture
 capital-backed company.
 
 

SOURCE  BabyCenter