Market America Implements Microsoft FAST for Site Search

There will be more announced on this during our convention in Greensboro, NC this week.

Market America Implements Microsoft FAST for Site Search of Tens of Millions of SKUs

Microsoft finishes job Google started, giving marketamerica.com state of the art product search

GREENSBORO, N.C. (June 24, 2009) – Market America, an Internet Marketing and Product Brokerage company that specializes in One-to-One Marketing announced today it has successfully implemented Microsoft’s FAST ESP for the search of over 35 million SKUs (stock keeping units – or references to specific products available from suppliers) on marketamerica.com after Google was unable to fulfill Market America’s search needs.

“Microsoft stepped up to the plate and provided a solution that not only worked, but offered so much more in search functionality than we have seen in the past,” said James Ridinger, president and CEO of Market America. “FAST ESP allows customers on marketamerica.com to search millions upon millions of SKUs and get results in sub second response times. Microsoft realizes that people don’t want to search for products, they want to find them. This is directly in line with our philosophy of matching products with people.”

“Market America has an established reputation for bringing a high level of service and functionality to their customers,” said Bjorn Olstad, Microsoft Distinguished Engineer and CTO of FAST, A Microsoft Subsidiary. “Through FAST, we’re excited to help also bring strategic value to Market America’s business, making it easier than ever for Market America customers to find the products they’re looking for.”

Another crucial element in implementing FAST ESP on marketamerica.com is the ability for consumers to comparison shop based on price, color, size, etc. “With today’s consumer being more price conscious than ever, it was critical for us to find a search partner who could provide our customers with the ability to search tens of millions of SKUs, including over 2,000 Market America branded products and those from over 2,500 partner stores to find the best deal and to do it quickly,” said Ridinger. “The implementation of Microsoft search technology allows us to reach our goal of being the ultimate online shopping destination by providing an endless shopping experience where the customer can fulfill all their online needs at one URL.”

With the implementation of FAST and a number of new market-driven products and partner stores being added to marketamerica.com daily, Market America plans to increase the number of searchable SKUs to 50 million within the next several months.

ABOUT MARKET AMERICA

Market America is a product brokerage and Internet marketing company that specializes in One-to-One-Marketing. With more than six million customers and 180,000 Customer Managers worldwide, the company has generated over $3 billion in accumulated retail sales. Headquartered in Greensboro, NC – the company was founded in 1992 by president and CEO James Ridinger and employs over 550 people globally. Through its revolutionary One-to-One Marketing concept, Market America combines the Internet with the power of people – creating the ultimate online shopping destination. More information is available at www.marketamerica.com/janecook.