Startup Intros E-merchandising Platform

CrossCommerce.com Inc., a privately held startup, will debut today its merchandising service platform, which is designed to help Web sites boost revenue by adding commerce capabilities in a quick and cost-efficient way. Content-focused sites are in dire need of a way to turn traffic into profits, says Peter Nordberg, CrossCommerce founder and CEO. "Banner ads and marketing programs are not effective in driving commerce, because it takes the visitor away from the page."

CrossCommerce's E-merchandising platform targets publishing, community, and entertainment and integrates transaction processing, fulfillment, and customer service with the site's back-end systems. This lets site managers offer merchandise that is directly related to the content on the page, the company says.

The company is also partnering with QRS Corp., a provider of E-commerce services to the retail industry. Under the partnership, CrossCommerce will get access to QRS's electronic catalog services. CrossCommerce will also be able to leverage QRS's existing E-commerce infrastructure to process, track, and ship orders directly to consumers.

Other vendors, including Vitessa Corp. and iVendor Inc., are targeting the same market as CrossCommerce. But "developing powerful alliances with suppliers like QRS and reducing time to merchandise for content sites" gives CrossCommerce a leg up on the competition, says Carol Baroudi, senior electronic business strategies analyst with Hurwitz Group.