Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

Herald-Journal to open online shopping web site



Central Minnesota Cyberstore (CMC), a complete electronic
shopping Web site featuring local and area products, will be opening for
business within the next few weeks.

The new Web site gives local and area merchants an easy
way to sell their products throughout the USA and beyond. CMC’s Web address
will be announced when the site officially opens.

Central Minnesota Cyberstore is operated by the Howard
Lake Herald/Winsted-Lester Prairie Journal along with the newspapers’ own
site at www.herald-journal.com.

CMC is targeted for people outside the general trade area
of the local communities. Internet users from 50 or 5,000 miles away will
have easy access to ordering local products offered for sale on the site.

From a technical standpoint, Central Minnesota Cyberstore
has two sections. One is an informational area and product listing. The
other is the actual online shopping mall where computer users can easily
order items with a few clicks of a mouse.

Industry standard security is provided so that customers
may make purchases online with Visa, Mastercard, or Discover credit cards.
For those who prefer not to order via computer, there is also a fax and/or
mail order form available as well.

The Herald-Journal newspaper site has steadily drawn more
and more visitors since its inception two and one-half years ago, reaching
as many as 1,800 unique visitors in a single week recently.

New records for hits and home page accesses were set again
the last week in October. In fact, new usage records have been set every
few weeks throughout 1998.

The main newspaper site will be just one of many ways for
Internet users to enter Central Minnesota Cyberstore.

“People visiting the Herald-Journal site already have
a demonstrated interest in our area. The next logical step is to offer them
local products to buy,” said Dale Kovar of the Herald-Journal staff.

Also, “entrances” to Central Minnesota Cyberstore
will be placed in other Web sites controlled by the Herald and Journal such
as the site for the Luce Line Trail (www.luceline.com).

Finally, CMC will also have a presence in Yahoo Store’s
online shopping mall, which is one of the busiest online malls in the world.
That connection will also mean large amounts of Web traffic coming to Central
Minnesota Cyberstore.

The cyberstore has several local products already committed,
and will open as soon as several more businesses come on board.

For merchants or individuals, the cyberstore works similar
to a consignment shop.

As operator of the store, the Herald and Journal handle
all the design, maintenance, marketing, and operation of the site. Orders
are then filled by the participating merchant.

Generally, any product that would work in a mail order
situation would be suitable for online sales. Anything with a specific local
connection would be even more desirable.

For more information on becoming a merchant in Central
Minnesota Cyberstore, contact:

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