Feature

March 22, 2000 Now, there really is a reason to hold a Boston tea party: Groceries, including tea, for up to half-off. It's Boston's turn to start saving up to half-off on their grocery bills by using the Internet.

Boston consumers are able to name their own price for groceries through the Priceline WebHouse Club. By using the Priceline WebHouse Club, shoppers name their own price for groceries on the Internet at http://www.priceline.com and then get those groceries at their favorite local supermarket at up to half-off.

The Priceline WebHouse Club is expanding into the metro Boston and Providence markets with the addition of 105 Stop & Shop supermarkets. Priceline WebHouse Club members name their own price on the Internet on over 200 product categories representing more than 800 national brands. There are no deliveries; instead, Priceline WebHouse Club members get their groceries at their favorite local supermarket once they have named their own price online.

"Priceline delivers savings, not groceries," said Jay S. Walker, founder of the Priceline WebHouse Club. "For the first time, consumers in Boston and Providence can use the power of the Internet to save up to half-off hundreds of the brand-name grocery items they buy every week, and still shop at their favorite local supermarkets."

Since its launch on November 1, 1999, the Priceline WebHouse Club has priced more than 15 million grocery items in what the company believes is an Internet unit sales volume record.

Contributing to the popularity of the Priceline WebHouse Club are new Half-Price tokens, introduced last month. These "virtual" tokens, which are awarded when WebHouse Club members try sponsor services, allow members to automatically lock in guaranteed 50 percent savings on any grocery item on the Priceline WebHouse Club web site.

On February 25, the Priceline WebHouse Club announced it was adding a new way for consumers to save money - Priceline for Gasoline. Priceline WebHouse club will allow consumers to save 10 cents to 20 cents a gallon at their local gas station, beginning May 20, 2000, the weekend before Memorial Day weekend. Widely covered in the media, including over 500 television stories, Priceline's "name your price" for gasoline has increased traffic to Priceline and the Priceline WebHouse Club web sites. Priceline WebHouse Club is benefiting from tens of thousands of consumers visiting the site to request Priceline for Gasoline cards.

Priceline for Gasoline is based on a simple, easy-to-use proposition. Priceline WebHouse Club members will be able to name three national brand gas stations that are convenient to them and name their price for gasoline, for 10 cents to 20 cents per gallon, or more, off the pump price. Priceline for Gasoline selects the gas station from among the three pre-selected by the member. The consumer then goes to that station and ignores the price at the pump. Priceline WebHouse Club members can get up to 50 gallons at any one time at their price.

How the WebHouse Club Works

To use the WebHouse Club, consumers log onto http://www.priceline.com from their home or office computers before they go to the grocery store. After entering the WebHouse Club, members can select from hundreds of grocery items. After choosing two or more national brands for each category, consumers can name their own prices and find out within 60 seconds whether their prices have been accepted. Members lock in their prices by pre-paying with a credit card while they're still online.

Before logging off, members print out a pre-paid grocery list that they can take with them to their favorite local participating store. This pre-paid grocery list includes information verifying the products consumers purchased through the WebHouse Club. At the checkout counter, one swipe of a shopper's Priceline WebHouse Club card completes the process. Shoppers can get their Priceline WebHouse Club card at participating supermarkets or by requesting one from the WebHouse Club web site.

About the Priceline WebHouse Club

Priceline WebHouse Club Inc. (http://www.webhouse.priceline.com), a privately held licensee of priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN), allows customers to name their own price for hundreds of leading grocery items on the Internet. Members choose from 200 product categories representing more than 800 national brand choices.

WebHouse Club members, after naming their price for groceries, can then get their items at their choice of nearly 3,000 participating stores in areas including New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Hartford, western and central Massachusetts, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Detroit and southeastern Virginia.

Since launching four months ago in the New York City metropolitan area, the WebHouse Club has enrolled more than 300,000 members who save an average of $13 on each shopping trip.

Members have named their price on over 15 million different grocery items.