As a promotion, ShopMart inks a deal with Gateway 2000 to lease its PCs to every household located within 25 to 50 miles of existing ShopMart stores. ShopMart targets households that take periodic day-long shopping trips and that have been cited in consumer surveys as big spenders at certain discount retail chains. ElectronicMart becomes a success almost overnight. Tweaking the system to achieve even more savings and better service, Merchant programs the intelligent-agent technology to look for preferred merchandise at the best price throughout the chain. To expedite delivery, the agent is also programmed to recommend the best and most economical transportation carriers based on size, weight, delivery logistics, local zoning ordinances, day of week and time of day.
Customer loyalty grows.
ShopMart's foray into online shopping quickly goes international and emerges as the standard for online retailing. Within three years, electronic-shopping sales surpass those of ShopMart's store division. In 2005, ShopMart names Merchant chief executive officer. The new CEO continues his mission, wiring his global-village stores in the remote four corners of the earth. Mass. A widely cited authority on retail systems and computing strategies, Friedman also runs the annual Retail Systems trade show.