Active Research Launches Most Unbiased, Comprehensive Product Recommendation Engine on the Web.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 21, 1998--

Active Buyer's Guide Understands Consumer Needs & Preferences by

Replicating Shopping Behavior

Active Research Inc., a provider of technology to automate market research, today announced the launch of its first service offering, Active Buyer's Guide(TM), the most unbiased, comprehensive Web-based product recommendation engine on the Internet. Active Buyer's Guide helps consumers find products or services that best match their own values, needs and preferences. Active Research licenses Active Buyer's Guide as a fully outsourced, privately labeled service to channel partners, such as portals and consumer information sites, who then offer it as a value-added service to their visitors.

"Because products are included independent of manufacturer or retailer participation," explains Tom DuBois, chief executive officer of Active Research, "Active Buyer's Guide provides the most comprehensive, objective product information on the Web today. Based on more than 25 years of research into consumer buying behavior, it is truly state of the art electronic commerce technology."

Active Buyer's Guide is able to replicate the consumer shopping experience, understanding and simulating the difficult trade-offs made while comparison-shopping. As a result, the service considers all of the shopper's needs and preferences to recommend products with the highest value for each individual. For example, Active Buyer's Guide recognizes that a consumer shopping for a digital camera may be willing to pay more for certain desired features or trade certain features for others to get the right price. Its convenience eliminates the time consumers usually spend filtering through the glut of product information available on the Web when researching products.

"Active Research is addressing a critical need of shoppers," explains Jerry Michalski, president of technology consulting firm Sociate and former managing editor of Release 1.0. "They want help in making smarter, quicker product decisions online, but still want to be able to comparison shop in a comprehensive, unbiased fashion as they do in the real world." How Active Buyer's Guide Works

Active Buyer's Guide is powered by Adaptive Recommendation Technology(TM), sophisticated software that uses mathematical methodologies to simulate decisions that consumers would make if they were to examine every product available on the market. This multidimensional technology enables Active Buyer's Guide to intelligently hone in on what drives each shopper's decision making process, building a unique behavior model for each individual. Complex data mining then matches products to the behavior model to deliver summary reports customized for that shopper.

For channel partners that host the Active Buyer's Guide, it is a hassle-free, "plug and play" service. Active Buyer's Guide attracts and retains site traffic because it is engaging, intuitive and easy to use. Active Research private labels the technology for the channel partner to seamlessly integrate with the host site, match its look and feel, and as a result, increase brand equity for the partner as the "originator" of the service. Finally, Active Buyer's Guide expands the partner's revenue possibilities from advertising and other sources.

Active Buyer's Guide is completely developed, hosted, operated, and maintained from Active Research's facilities. Active Research licenses the service directly, and there are no start-up fees or maintenance costs for channel partners. Active Research presently focuses Active Buyer's Guide on sites servicing the consumer electronics industry, with particular focus on digital cameras and camcorders. Current partners include The Imaging Resource, (www.imaging-resource.com), PC-Photo Forum, (www.pcphotoforum.com), and SomethingNow, Inc. About Active Research

Active Research Inc. is a provider of technology to automate market research. Active Research offers companies in fast moving industries timely and relevant insight into consumer buying behavior so they can intelligently fulfill the needs of their markets. The company's Market Research Automation technology reduces research time from months to minutes, providing real-time answers that facilitate smarter product decisions. Consumers find the ideal products to buy; manufacturers determine the ideal products to sell. Started in December 1997, the company is based in San Francisco and on the web at www.activeresearch.com.