Leading-edge Search Technology Offers Customers an Entirely New Way to Find, Discover and Buy Books

SEATTLE-August 9, 2005-Amazon.ca today announced the launch of its Search Inside! feature, an entirely new way for Canadians to find and discover books by searching the full text inside them, not just matches to author or title keywords.

In collaboration with publishers, Amazon.ca is enabling customers to find books at Amazon.ca based on every word inside more than 130,000 books - more than 39 million pages of searchable text. Customers can also preview the inside text of these books. The Search Inside! technology is integrated into Amazon.ca's standard book search and includes titles from all genres.

"Search Inside! is an excellent example of how innovation drives customer experience," said Sarah Jane Gunter, manager, Amazon.ca. "With Search Inside!, we're offering Canadians an entirely new way to find and discover the books they want and making it even easier for them to make informed purchase decisions."

For the 12 months following Amazon.com's October 2003 U.S. launch of Search Inside!, sales growth for titles included in the program outpaced growth for those not included in the program by 7 per cent.

"Giving customers the ability to discover titles they might not otherwise have found is truly an innovative step in connecting books and readers," said Kevin Williams, executive vice president, business development, Raincoast Books.

Through Search Inside!, customers can find, discover and buy titles from more than 110 publishers, including Douglas & McIntyre, ECW Press, Firefly Books, Groundwood Books, HarperCollins Canada, John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd., Lobster Press, McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Oxford University Press Canada, Penguin Group (Canada), Raincoast Books, Simon & Schuster Canada, Taylor & Francis and University of Toronto Press.

Here's how it works:

 

  • Customers interested in finding books about the glycemic index can type the phrase into the Books' search box and will get two sets of search results - Amazon.ca's standard search results and Search Inside! results. Customers can then click on the Search Inside! results tab and see books that have "glycemic index" in their text, along with a sample excerpt from each including that word or phrase.
  • By clicking on the link that says "See more references to 'glycemic index' in this book," customers will see a list of excerpts from all pages on which "glycemic index" appears in the book they selected, as well as a link to view the full page from the book on which the excerpt appears.
  • Once customers have clicked on the link to a specific page they can preview relevant pages, including the page they selected, and search for other terms of interest within the book. Customers must be signed in and have made a past purchase to view complete pages.


 

Additional examples include:

 

  • Customers who search for consultative selling will discover more than 400 titles referencing this topic, including Mark Marone's "Strategies That Win Sales: Best Practices of the World's Leading Organizations" and "The Boundaryless Organization: Breaking the Chains of Organizational Structure, Revised and Updated," by Ron Ashkenas, Dave Ulrich and Todd Jick.
  • Those looking to learn more about single malt scotch can search for this term to discover an array of related titles, ranging from bartending guides to beverage management handbooks to F. Paul Pacult's "A Double Scotch: How Chivas Regal and The Glenlivet Became Global Icons."
  • Searching for Pierre Trudeau provides Canadian history buffs with a variety of books on the subject - everything from Steven Paiken's "Dark Side" to the "Canadian Global Almanac, 2005 Edition."


 

Customers are encouraged to type words and phrases of interest into the new search box, and enjoy whatever surprises they might find.

About Amazon.ca
Amazon.ca (www.amazon.ca) is part of the global family of Amazon Web sites that have become known for great prices, selection, and convenience. Amazon.ca customers can find and discover millions of English and French books, CDs, videos, and DVDs as well as a vast array of software, video games, and consoles--all at everyday low prices. Amazon.ca also offers FREE Super Saver Shipping, available on orders of $39 or more delivered to a single Canadian address. Amazon.ca sources products directly from Canadian publishers and distributors, ensuring a rich offering of Canadian titles and content. Features such as original editorial reviews in English and French and product recommendations help Amazon.ca customers find the right products for them among the site's broad selection. Through Amazon Marketplace, Amazon.ca customers can conveniently buy and sell used, new, and collectible merchandise on the same pages where Amazon.ca sells those items new.

To ensure all orders are delivered to customers quickly and efficiently, Amazon.ca works with Canada Post, one of the world's most progressive postal companies. Orders placed at Amazon.ca are fulfilled and shipped from within Canada by Assured Logistics, a part of the Canada Post Group of Companies.

Amazon.ca is the trading name of Amazon.com.ca, Inc., an affiliate of Amazon.com, Inc.

Forward Looking Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to potential future losses, significant amount of indebtedness, competition, management of growth, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, the outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions, and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, consumer trends, inventory, limited operating history, government regulation and taxation, fraud, and new business areas. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, and all subsequent filings.

Contact: Victoria Kirk
National Public Relations
416.848.1419; vkirk@national.ca