Innotrac Shares Findings of February eCommerce Benchmarking Study

ATLANTA, April 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Innotrac Corporation (NASDAQ: INOC), a best-of-breed commerce provider integrating digital technology, fulfillment, and contact center solutions to support global brands, today announced summary results of its latest SmartHub® e-commerce benchmark analysis, which was based on a sampling of orders placed in February of this year.

SmartHub® is Innotrac's research and strategy layer, providing clients and partners with consultative services, including end-to-end intelligence of the online retail purchase cycle.  From the pre-order site experience all the way through the final steps of the returns process, Innotrac's 56-point methodology analyzes each important customer touch point, charting retailers on everything from the checkout experience, to evaluation of the packaging material used in shipment.  SmartHub® also encompasses custom research and analysis available for current clients who are confronting the challenges of building and nurturing their eCommerce channel.

"The continued expansion of SmartHub® is reflective of our efforts to be a true strategic partner for our clients," said Jon Eggleton, Innotrac's Vice President of Marketing & eCommerce.  "They expect us to be more than just a fulfillment and contact center solutions provider, and SmartHub® is one way in which we can add more value to those relationships." 

SmartHub® evaluated 100 leading U.S. e-retailers across six different product categories in February for its latest report, SmartHub® release 2.0.  Among the findings:

• The average number of checkout pages required to complete an order was three; only 7% of merchants surveyed offered one-page checkout as an option.
• 96% of merchants surveyed were able to confirm inventory of a purchased item through customer service, however, of those who had more than one distribution channel (e.g. online plus physical stores, or catalog), only 47% of CSRs appeared to have visibility into activity happening outside of the e-commerce or direct channel.
• 65% of all merchants surveyed were able to ship packages to customers in three days or less, a slight improvement from the busy Q4 holiday season.  Merchants in the Housewares/Home category were most expedient, with 74% of orders received within three business days.
• 38% of all merchants utilized some sort of branded packaging, either inside or outside the box, up from 29% in Q4.  Health/Beauty merchants were most aggressive, with 53% utilizing branded packaging, the only category in the survey that indexed higher than 50%.

The addition of several new data points, including those pertaining to customer service, has provided additional insights not seen in previous SmartHub® releases.  Multi-channel visibility is one such area that is now being evaluated as retailers become more proficient at servicing customers who see no boundaries between online and brick-and-mortar outlets.

"It is particularly interesting that a slight majority of merchants aren't yet providing omni-channel activity to customers through one source," said Eggleton.  "We expect to see this trend change as customers push further for channel transparency."

About Innotrac

Innotrac (NASDAQ: INOC) was founded in 1984, with the goal of providing the highest quality fulfillment services to both our clients and their customers.  We have an integrated network of eight fulfillment centers, along with a contact center in North America.  Innotrac Europe GmbH has a network of fulfillment centers, call centers, and returns processing facilities with operations in the UK, Germany, France, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands. Connect with Innotrac at www.innotrac.com or http://www.linkedin.com/company/innotrac.

Media Contact:

Yolanda Kokayi
Innotrac Marketing Manager
678-584-4096
[email protected]

Information contained in this press release, other than historical information, may be considered forward-looking in nature.  Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, estimated or expected.  Among the key factors that may have a direct bearing on Innotrac's operating results, performance or financial condition are competition, the demand for Innotrac's services, Innotrac's ability to retain its current clients, Innotrac's success in growing its existing client base, developing new business, Innotrac's ability to maintain or improve gross margins in the face of increasing revenues, reducing operating costs in response to reduced service revenues, realization of expected revenues from new clients, the general state of the  industries that the Company serves, changing technologies, Innotrac's ability to maintain profit margins in the face of pricing pressures and numerous other factors discussed in Innotrac's 2011 Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Innotrac disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Innotrac Corporation