Sears and America Online Launch In-Store and Online Promotions
Sears Customers Can Subscribe to AOL at Store Registers, Pay Monthly AOL
Subscriptions with Sears Card
Sears, America Online Kick off Holiday Shopping Season with $50 Sears.com
Shopping Sprees and Five $100,000 Sweepstake Winners
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. and DULLES, Va., Nov. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Sears, Roebuck and Co. (NYSE: S) and America Online, Inc. (NYSE: AOL) today announced the launch of a series of in-store and online promotions to kick off the holiday shopping season, including new ways for consumers to sign up for the AOL service and pay for membership through Sears, as well as Sears.com shopping sprees and sweepstakes.
Beginning immediately, Sears customers can sign up for AOL membership at registers in approximately 860 Sears full-line stores in the United States and nine stores in Puerto Rico, primarily in the home electronics department, and at the service desk at 180 Sears Hardware Stores. In addition, existing and new AOL 6.0 members also have the option of using the Sears Card, the nation's largest proprietary credit card with 39 million active card holders, to pay for their monthly AOL membership.
To celebrate these new offerings, Sears customers who sign up for a one- year AOL membership in Sears stores are automatically registered for the chance to win "The Sears Good Life Giveaway" $100,000 Sweepstakes from Sears ($500,000 total; one $100,000 winner every month for five months) and also are eligible for special Sears money-saving promotions.
As part of "The Sears Good Life Giveaway" promotion, customers signing up in Sears stores for one year of AOL service will also receive a $50 sears.com shopping spree courtesy of Sears (valid within the continental United States), label-maker software (a $19.99 value) and 700 hours of AOL service free for the first month.
Consumers who use their Sears Card as payment when signing up in a Sears store for one year of AOL service will also receive more than $2,400 in coupons for use on future Sears purchases made in Sears stores with their Sears Card.
These promotions are part of a wide-ranging strategic alliance the companies announced in March of 2000, designed to bring the Internet and emerging technologies to consumers. Under this alliance, Sears merchandise is available to users of the America Online brands across the Shop@AOL online shopping destinations, or through AOL Keyword: Sears.
"Sears and America Online are making it easy to give the gift of Internet access this holiday season," said Joe Charno, vice president of online marketing for Sears Online. "The convenience of registering for the AOL service in our stores, payment with a Sears Card and the money-saving opportunities with The Good Life Giveaway represent the next steps in the strategic alliance that Sears and America Online announced earlier this year to bring the digital life to many more American homes," said Charno.
Jan Brandt, America Online's president of marketing said, "I'm happy to announce these great new developments in our alliance with Sears. Sears.com is already available across Shop@AOL, and these new promotions will bring the convenience of AOL to Sears customers and provide a new payment option for AOL members, while making it possible to win valuable shopping sprees and sweepstakes. We look forward to working with Sears to develop even more ways to combine the strengths of our two strong consumer brands."
The Sears Good Life Giveaway special promotion runs through April 2001. Official rules are available in participating Sears stores in the United States.
About America Online, Inc.
Founded in 1985, America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, Virginia, is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies, and e-commerce services.
About Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Co. is a leading U.S. retailer of apparel, home and automotive products and services, with annual revenue of nearly $40 billion. The company serves families throughout the country through approximately 860 department stores, more than 2,100 specialized retail locations, and a variety of online offerings accessible through the company's Web site, http://www.sears.com/.
SOURCE: Sears, Roebuck & Co.
Contact: Ann Woolman of Sears, Roebuck and Co., 847-286-7079, email,
awoolma@sears.com; or David Theis of America Online, 703-265-1491
Website: http://www.sears.com/