BOSTON, April 10 /PRNewswire/ -- A profound new way of thinking about the relationship between businesses and customers is emerging at Personalization Summit 2000 in Boston. In the city that embodies the spirit of revolution, Steven Snyder, president and CEO of Net Perceptions (Nasdaq: NETP), welcomed a sold-out crowd of more than 1,100 decision makers from the realm of personalization, customer relationship management and e-commerce with a rallying cry that future success is dependent on the adoption of a fundamentally different, smarter business model driven by realtime personalization technology. That vision, which Snyder calls the "Personalization-centric Enterprise," defines how businesses must look beyond their Web sites to create new ways for entire organizations to speak with one voice to each individual customer, anywhere the customer initiates contact, and in a way that represents a deep understanding of each customer's tastes and preferences.

"The Personalization-centric Enterprise represents the aspirations of our most visionary customers. They recognize the future begins not with software, hardware or processes but instead with an attitude and commitment to serve individual customers vs. mass segments," said Snyder. "We stand at the threshold of one of the most dynamic business revolutions in modern memory. Through personalization technology we are reviving and building upon an era when the corner shopkeeper managed inventory, made purchase decisions, stocking arrangements and provided customers with recommendations based on knowing each individual customer's preferences and needs."

At the core of the Personalization-centric Enterprise is the ability to serve the customer with meaningful multi-channel recommendations, including in stores, call centers, on Web sites, as well as wireless devices -- or what Net Perceptions refers to as "walk, talk, click, and beep." Businesses that move swiftly to implement personalization across sales, product, service and delivery functions create a relationship that mutually benefits the business and the customer.

Net Perceptions further advanced the evolution of the Personalization- centric Enterprise with today's announcement that it will provide personalization software and services for a new wireless Internet movie-recommendation service from MGM.

The Customer is King

In a later address, John Riedl, associate professor at the University of Minnesota and chief scientist of Net Perceptions, defined the Personalization-centric Enterprise in the context of future technology developments. Riedl's pioneering work on collaborative filtering technology at the University of Minnesota is the genesis of Net Perceptions' realtime enterprise-wide personalization and precision marketing tools. This technology has greatly influenced e-commerce by allowing businesses to understand and predict what individual customers will value and make realtime recommendations that have proven to increase sales and enhance repeat customer business.

According to Riedl, personalization will evolve to give consumers increasing amounts of control and interactivity both on the Internet and off. In turn, merchants will gain the ability to more effectively guide customers to the specific information and products they are most likely to purchase. At the same time, future advances in personalization will serve to better protect consumer privacy. Examples of how consumers will soon gain greater control are:

• the opportunity to ask for an explanation of why a particular recommendation was made;

• increased control for how individual preferences are combined to create a group recommendation; and

• the ability to define the balance between the level of confidence with the level of serendipity.

The vision further extends to a time when the merchant itself becomes transparent because the consumer can select any product regardless of vendor. Looking out beyond this decade, Riedl sees a time when individuals will carry what he refers to as Profile-in-a-Pocket. "The time will come when all customer information is contained and maintained by the individual who then determines when, where and why to share that information in exchange for recommendations," predicted Riedl.

About Personalization Summit 2000

Personalization Summit 2000, being held at the Marriott Copley Place Hotel in Boston, brings together more than 1,100 customers, partners, technology experts and industry leaders for two days of general sessions, informative breakout sessions and an exhibit fair featuring the leaders in personalization technology -- 52 companies in all. As a pioneer of personalization solutions, Net Perceptions has been able to leverage its position and its industry partnerships to facilitate a collaborative environment for the exchange of information and ideas related to the role personalization plays in marketing today. Summit attendees are immersed in discussions related to the technical, marketing and business aspects of how personalization enhances customer relationships and strengthens a company's bottom line.

About Net Perceptions

Net Perceptions is a leading provider of enterprise-wide personalization and precision marketing software solutions for Internet and multi-channel retailers. Its software is designed to help retailers understand customers individually, optimize product assortments, prices and inventories and offer the right product to the right customer at the right price. Net Perceptions' customers include many of the world's best-known brands including: Art.com, Bertelsmann, The Children's Place, Egghead.com, eToys.com, Fingerhut, Hudson's Bay Company, J.C. Penney, Procter & Gamble, Tower Records and Walgreens. Incorporated in Delaware, July 3, 1996, the company has offices in Minneapolis; San Francisco; New York; Austin, Texas; Richardson, Texas; Berkshire, U.K. and a joint venture operation in Japan. For more information about Net Perceptions products visit http://www.netperceptions.com or call 800-466-0711.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are the company's limited operating history, delays in product development, development of the Internet market, changes in product pricing policies, competitive pressures, and the risk factors detailed from time to time in the company's periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. SOURCE Net Perceptions, Inc.

/NOTE TO EDITOR: Net Perceptions is a registered trademark of Net Perceptions. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners./

CONTACT: Press only, Jacqueline Hanson of Net Perceptions, 612-918-1749, 800-466-0711, jhanson@netperceptions.com , or John Taylor of Waggener Edstrom, 425-637-9097, johnt@wagged.com , for Net Perceptions/