The National Retail Federation (NRF) and Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR), in conjunction with Greenfield Online, Inc., today announced the results of the latest NRF/Forrester Online Retail Index. According to the eighth survey in this monthly series, total spending of online sales increased from $4 billion in July to $4.2 billion in August. Fifteen million households shopped online in August, spending an average of $280 per person.

“Apparel and footwear were among two of the largest-growing small-item categories in August, which we attribute to school starting up again,” said David M. Cooperstein, research director at Forrester. “On the other hand, online sales of sporting goods, tools and hardware, and garden supplies all decreased from July to August — summer is clearly over.”

Spending on apparel and footwear rose collectively from $215 million in July to $249 million in August — a 16% increase. Music was the low-priced, small-ticket category that experienced the greatest growth — a 14% increase from July to August. Spending on linens/home décor also experienced a significant increase of 19% from July to August.

Online sales increased in six out of nine big-ticket categories. Computer hardware led the way, experiencing a 14% increase — from $377 million in July to $431 million in August. Appliances experienced the biggest dip, with sales dropping from $50 million in July to $19 million in August.

About The Index
The NRF/Forrester Online Retail Index measures, on a monthly basis, the growth and seasonality of online shopping based on data collected from online shoppers. The Index is based on 5,000 responses during the first 10 business days of the month from an online panel developed by Greenfield Online. The survey results for August were fielded from August 1, 2000, through August 8, 2000.

The monthly panel is weighted to Forrester Research’s Benchmark Panel, which surveyed nearly 90,000 US and Canadian members of a consumer mail panel developed by NPD Group, a market research firm. Data was weighted to demographically represent the North American population. The survey was fielded from late November 1999 to February 2000.

About The National Retail Federation
The National Retail Federation is the world’s largest retail trade association with membership that encompasses all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, and independent stores. NRF members represent an industry that encompasses more than 1.4 million US retail establishments, employs more than 20 million people — about 1 in 5 American workers — and registered 1999 sales of $3.0 trillion. NRF’s international members operate stores in more than 50 nations. In its role as the retail industry’s umbrella group, NRF also represents 32 national and 50 state associations in the US as well as 36 international associations representing retailers abroad. The Index can be found on the National Retail Federation Web site at www.nrf.com.

About Greenfield Online
Greenfield Online, Inc. is a totally Internet-enabled, full-service marketing research provider. The company’s core business is to conduct online custom consumer andbusiness-to-business studies that are faster, better, and richer than traditional marketing research. Greenfield’s Digital Consumer™ tracking studies examine e-commerce subjects and important vertical markets. Incorporated in 1995, Greenfield Online is headquartered in Wilton, Conn., with a satellite office in San Francisco. For additional information about Greenfield Online and its services, please visit the company’s Web site at www.greenfield.com.