Intershop to release an innovative simulation software program for complex e-commerce processes in 2014

• The system-independent SaaS solution SIMCOMMERCE is set to be released in late 2014
• The first tool tailored specifically to online commerce for new technologies big data and predictive analytics
• Software shortens the decision-making process while minimizing risks and costs

Jena, Germany, 5-2-2014 — /EuropaWire/ — Intershop, one of the world’s leading providers of integrated omni-channel commerce solutions, has announced that SIMCOMMERCE, an innovative simulation software program for complex e-commerce processes, will be released in 2014. The software will give decision-makers in the online commerce industry a solid basis on which to predict whether investments in online shop system modifications or targeted online marketing campaigns will pay off in higher sales or site traffic over a specified period of time. SIMCOMMERCE is the first analytical tool tailored specifically to the needs of online commerce.

As a cost-efficient software-as-a-service solution, it will give even relatively small businesses the capability to make accurate cost/benefit predictions. In the pilot test phase currently underway, project partners already have access to simulation models for payment portfolio & risk management, search engine optimization, advertising and e-mail marketing modules. Further elements, such as shop optimization for mobile devices or returns management, are to be added in time for the official launch.

SIMCOMMERCE works with customer data (such as historical transaction data) along with industry and market data, and benchmarks. It differs from the analytical methods commonly used in the past, such as A/B testing. With SIMCOMMERCE it is no longer necessary to actually install alternative shop elements such as different payment providers in the shop to test their effect on customers. The tool makes it now possible to generate simulations that precisely mirror a business’s own shop model or customer segment without the additional costs or risks decision makers are confronted with today. To perform a realistic cost/benefit analysis, the system aligns the selected module with a comprehensive quantity of anonymized external data for similar scenarios. Numerous variants can be combined with one another in different ways and simulated separately within a single module, and as a result even large-scale comparison tests that would have been too costly and time-consuming for traditional A/B testing methods are now possible. This makes SIMCOMMERCE a powerful business intelligence solution for industry newcomers especially.

Project manager Dr. Arndt Döhler, Research Manager at Intershop, explains that “Our goal was to capture the cause-and-effect relationships in e-commerce and make them quantifiable. The effects that decisions will have on relevant indicators can then be simulated.”

Adds Dr. Jochen Wiechen, Chief Technology Officer at Intershop, “Developments such as big data and predictive analytics are going to bring about lasting changes in the online commerce industry. In the past it was often only the big companies with access to powerful forecasting tools that could use these futuristic technologies to their advantage. Intershop’s SIMCOMMERCE is going to democratize the industry and finally put these sales drivers within reach of smaller businesses as well.”

More information about SIMCOMMERCE can be found online at http://www.intershop.com/predictive-analytics.

About Intershop
Intershop Communications AG (founded in Germany 1992; Prime Standard: ISH2) is the leading independent provider of omni-channel commerce solutions. Intershop offers high-performance packaged software for internet sales, complemented by all necessary services including online marketing consulting. Intershop also acts as a business process outsourcing provider, covering all aspects of online retailing up to fulfillment. Around the globe more than 500 enterprise customers, including HP, BMW, Deutsche Telekom, and Mexx run Intershop solutions. Intershop is headquartered in Jena, Germany, and has offices in the United States, Europe, Australia, and China. More information about Intershop can be found online at www.intershop.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial and operational performance of Intershop. Actual events or performance may differ materially from those contained or implied in such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties that could lead to such difference could include, among other things: Intershop’s limited operating history, the unpredictability of future revenues and expenses and potential fluctuations in revenues and operating results, significant dependence on large single customer deals, consumer trends, the level of competition, seasonality, risks related to electronic security, possible governmental regulation, and general economic conditions.

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