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WEB-BASED COUPONING, ADS TESTED AT RANDALLS

HOUSTON -- Randalls Food Markets here is testing a link to its web site that offers a customized virtual store in which customers can find store specials and download coupons.The linked site will also feature advertising of private-label brands. Advertising of national brands will be tested in the future. The test, which began May 28 and runs for three weeks, involves more than 100 Randalls and Tom

HOUSTON -- Randalls Food Markets here is testing a link to its web site that offers a customized virtual store in which customers can find store specials and download coupons.

The linked site will also feature advertising of private-label brands. Advertising of national brands will be tested in the future. The test, which began May 28 and runs for three weeks, involves more than 100 Randalls and Tom Thumb stores, according to Emmett Yuchnewicz, web production manager for Randalls. Randalls operates stores under the Tom Thumb banner in the Dallas market.

"Our goal is to increase traffic to the web site for coupons and in turn increase traffic to the stores, with customers coming in to redeem coupons," Yuchnewicz said, adding that coupons and recipes are very popular on the Internet. Yuchnewicz noted that a test during the month of May showed that coupons generated the largest number of web site hits.

Randalls averages close to 4,061 visitors per day to its web site, which is promoted through its weekly print ads and store advertisements. Plans include a major Internet promotion, though no timetable has been set, said Yuchnewicz.

Yuchnewicz said that consumers can access coupons on Randalls' web site, www.randalls.com or www.tomthumb.com, by clicking the ClipNPrint icon. This takes users, via a hyperlink, to a web page that requires them to provide their name, county, state and Uniform Resource Locater address.

Once this information is entered, consumers are taken to a Randalls virtual store that welcomes them by name. The on-line store has aisles representing all items available at a Randalls store.

By clicking on the categories, consumers are able to view specials and indicate which coupons they want to download. Consumers can then print the coupons on their home computer and take them to the store for redemption.

Yuchnewicz said Randalls will be closely measuring the increase in traffic and the download rate of coupons to gauge the success of this test.

Another feature of the web site link is a consolidation of all Randalls' weekly ads. Previously, Randalls only displayed a limited number of these on-line, said Yuchnewicz. One reason was the time needed to input all the information and place it on-line.

Now, using the linked web site, Randalls will assemble the information, and Vcom, Tarpon Springs, Fla., the supplier of the linked site, will place it on-line. Changes to the ads will be done by Randalls.