HAMBURG, Germany, March 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Shop operators do more window-dressing than selling

E-shop managers spend more time on IT than on actual selling. The reason for this is that their software systems are too old. Above all, they lack user-friendly tools that simplify the advance planning of marketing campaigns. Shop operators generally have to have their websites reprogrammed - a complex business - because they don't have the technology to place the desired articles in the desired spot at the click of a mouse. What's more, with their current shop set-ups, e-commerce pros all too often take a do-it-yourself approach to adapting product data for promotions and, in doing so, squander sales potential because their online agents are acting more as Internet window-dressers than sellers. These are the findings of a recent market survey conducted by novomind.

Urgent need for e-shop IT upgrades

Technological solutions and new software architectures for making online selling more efficient already exist, but the e-commerce industry is still faced with extensive modernisation on their e-shopping systems. Hardly any of the big online retailers have overhauled their shop IT significantly in the past ten years. Many established e-shops have simply added on the latest technology modules. The result: increasingly complex data management and user-hostile functions. Both slow growth in online sales because they leave too little time for the proper planning of marketing activities.

Intuitive operation simplifies shop management

Shop operators need to be in a position to launch campaigns and promotional Web pages in real time - without a profound knowledge of IT or time-consuming procedures for changing product details, says Thomas Kohler, Managing Director of novomind iSHOP GmbH. For its e-shop platform, this joint venture between OTTO and novomind uses a newly developed concept with young technology. So now shop operators can forget about the technical side of the business thanks to new features and simple processes. These include drag drop functions, for example, and a campaign overview that lets shop managers display their websites' plans for the year in a timeline. This frees up a great deal of time for online sales specialists to deal with their actual jobs, for instance reconciling newsletter contents with the product range on their shop sites.

novomind iSHOP GmbH

OTTO has put four of its e-shops online with novomind iSHOP(TM) in the past twelve months, during which the OTTO Russia pilot project was followed by the specialist shops yourhome.de, schlafwelt.de and mein-mea.de. As partners, novomind and OTTO can pool and make the most of their knowledge of e-commerce. The platform for their joint venture is novomind iSHOP GmbH.

novomind at CeBIT 2010

novomind will be demonstrating the concept behind novomind iSHOP(TM) from 2 to 6 March at CeBIT 2010 - at the hamburg@work stand it will be sharing with other exhibitors: stand G08 in hall 6.

novomind AG: innovative e-business solutions for the modern Internet world and for professional customer communication

Since 1999, Hamburg company novomind has been developing innovative e-business solutions for the modern Internet world in four e-business disciplines: e-commerce (e-shops and zoom server), ePDM (electronic product management), e-marketplace (marketplace integration) and e-communication (solutions for contact and service centres).

novomind is a European technology leader in every service segment and covers the whole digital value-adding chain in retail and electronic customer communication. The Hamburg-based software house is the fastest growing company in the fields of electronic customer communication and mail management.

novomind also provides comprehensive consultancy services for people choosing a suitable IT system for e-commerce. Established licence software like IBM WebSphere Commerce Server and INTERSHOP ENFINITY is considered, as are custom-made novomind solutions based on novomind iSHOP(TM).

novomind AG is currently assisting more than 80 companies including Citibank, Der Club Bertelsmann, Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund, Ernsting's family, EnBW, gebruder gotz, OTTO and QVC.

For more information visit http://www.novomind.com. novomind AG, Bramfelder Strasse 121, 22305 Hamburg Press contact: Jan Kleinevoss, Faktenkontor GmbH, Tel.: +49(0)40-227038131, Fax: +49(0)40-227034131 E-mail: jan.kleinevoss@faktenkontor.de

SOURCE: novomind AG

CONTACT: novomind AG, Bramfelder Strasse 121, 22305 Hamburg, Presscontact: Jan Kleinevoss, Faktenkontor GmbH, Tel.: +49(0)40-227038131, Fax:+49(0)40-227034131, E-mail: jan.kleinevoss@faktenkontor.de