Citysearch and Chrome Data Form Alliance
PORTLAND, Ore.--April 12, 2001--Chrome Data Corporation, an independent business-to-business provider of automotive data, configuration technology and software, and Citysearch, one of the core businesses operated by Ticketmaster, announced today an agreement to jointly deliver a locate-to-order (LTO) system for Citysearch's network of online city guides.
The joint offering will deliver automotive reviews and Chrome Data's leading vehicle location tool, which connects online auto buyers with their vehicle of choice at a dealership located near them.
"The Internet has been a great research tool for the auto buyer, but until now it has fallen short in connecting buyers with the car of their choice," said Bob Navarre, CEO of Chrome Data Corporation. "By connecting auto buyers with Chrome's network of dealer inventories, Citysearch and Chrome are improving the buying experience and helping the Internet evolve from being a research tool to an effective and complete retail solution."
This new LTO system will enable online customers to research and connect with actual dealer inventory. Chrome's daily updates and ability to instantly search multiple dealer inventories improve customer satisfaction by increasing the chances that users will locate their vehicle of choice. In addition to enhancing the online automobile purchasing experience for buyers, dealers will benefit from the ability to expand their reach through Citysearch to new audiences and to display their inventory to additional online shoppers, increasing the potential for greater sales profitability.
"Citysearch users are nearly 60 percent more likely than users of other web sites to have shopped online for cars within the past six months according to @plan Spring 2001 data," said Steven Trepp, president of CitySearch. "This relationship will create an effective channel of communication between automotive dealers and Citysearch users who have shown a propensity to shop for cars online."
Chrome: Most Accurate Data Provider for Automotive e-Commerce
In a recent independent study CNW Marketing/Research compared the pricing data of the major online automotive data sources by configuring 86 different vehicles at eight different Web sites (see "Chrome Data Named Most Accurate Data Provider for Automotive e-Commerce," June 27, 2000). Chrome ranked first in MSRP pricing accuracy, at 99.64% and first in invoice pricing accuracy, at 99.95%.