Independent expert reviews from alaTEST on online shop ACES Direct

October 27, 2007 (PRLEAP.COM) Technology News
ACES Direct is the first online shop in the Netherlands that has implemented the online review system from alaTEST on its website.
alaTEST shows and rates worldwide professional reviews from renowned magazines and websites and calculates an overall quality rating with this information. The rating assists visitors with their buying decisions and increases overall buyer’s confidence. Through the partnership with alaTEST, ACES Direct will answer the growing demand of its visitors for independent and objective product information.


Hundreds of sources
More than 7,000 products from ACES Direct have been matched to more than 70,000 professional reviews from hundreds of Dutch and English sources. alaTEST gets the information from websites such as Consumentenbond.nl, Tipa.com, ZDNet.nl and Computable.nl. Some English sources are Consumerreports, CNET, PCWorld en Trustedreviews. Based on the aggregated verdicts, alaTEST calculates the alaSCORE, a rating for the quality of a product. The alaSCORE is a relative score that shows how a product has been reviewed by the experts, relative to all other products in the same product category (digital compact camera’s for example). The alaSCORE gives the quality verdict on a product on a scale from 0 to 100. This is supported visually with different colors (red, blue, green and yellow).
Furthermore, ACES Direct now offers its customers the opportunity to write their own reviews and comments. This functionality is also supplied by alaTEST.



Service
Marketing manager Serge Winsser from ACES Direct is has high expectations for the cooperation with alaTEST.
“Research has shown that reviews help customers to take a buying decision. Reviews from professional sources are even more powerful in that respect than user reviews. The reviews and the alaSCORE are an extra service to our customers. They will not have to go to comparison sites or read magazines. All available product information is brought together on our site. With this new system we also want to show that we have confidence in the products we offer. It is important to note that we do not have any influence on the scores and reviews that we show. The information that the visitor sees, is 100% independent and is published without intervention from ACES Direct.”


“Reviews are the second most demanded functionality on shopping sites according to a recent study of Jupiter media” says Arie Struik, The Dutch founder and CEO of alaTEST.com, “ The partnership with ACES Direct is in line with our mission to better inform consumers worldwide on the quality of products. This is an important first step on the Dutch market for alaTEST. It is the first partnership with an online retailer on the Dutch market, after our existing cooperation with shopping agents. ACES Direct is an important player on this market and we are delighted to be able to work together for the delivery of expert review content in Dutch and English.”

About ACES Direct BV
ACES Direct BV was founded in 1996 and is one of the largest suppliers of hardware, software, and supplies in the Netherlands. ACES Direct has developed a purchasing solution where online shop, catalogue and professional account management are brought together. Customers can expect good advice and an easy way of ordering. More information on: www.acesdirect.nl.



About alaTEST™
alaTEST™ (www.alatest.com) is an independent free online service assisting consumers with their purchasing decisions. On www.alaTEST.com a global, objectively aggregated product quality rating called alaSCORE™ presents product reviews and results.
At present the databank offers more than 1,4 million product reviews with emphasis on consumer electronics from more than 700 reliable sources such as e.g. PC World, CNET.com, Stiftung Warentest, PC Welt, etc.
Currently the service is available for 13 different countries in 10 different languages.