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Cedric the Entertainer and MSN Shopping Declare National “Shop in Your Undies Day” in New York’s Times Square


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Thirty-one percent of U.S. online adults have shopped online in their undies, according to new survey.

NEW YORK — Nov. 29, 2005 — The new and improved MSN® Shopping (http://shopping.msn.com) and Cedric the Entertainer, one of the hottest actor/comedians working today, called for an end to the hassles of holiday shopping, declaring today national Shop in Your Undies Day. Cedric appeared in New York’s Times Square to demonstrate that by shopping on the new and improved MSN Shopping, consumers can dress in whatever they want, even their undies. Shopping on MSN is not only easier than ever, it allows consumers to avoid holiday crowds and find great values on tens of millions of products from thousands of retailers.

Today Cedric was met by a huge crowd of fans, tourists and native New Yorkers in Times Square. As Cedric told the crowd that MSN Shopping is “the” place to shop dressed in whatever they want, some 50 men and women suddenly stripped down to just their winter coats and boxer shorts and marched through the crowded streets alongside Cedric singing holiday songs.

A new survey conducted by Harris Interactive Inc.® and commissioned by MSN Shopping shows that they’re not the only ones stripping down before shopping online. According to the survey, 31 percent of U.S. online adults have indeed shopped online in their undies. With the survey also finding that 70 percent of U.S. online adults who plan to shop for holiday gifts between now and New Year’s Day intend to do at least some of their holiday shopping online, it seems a lot of people will be dressing down and getting comfortable in front of their PCs over the next month.

“We all know that holiday shopping can be a real hassle,” Cedric the Entertainer said. “Why would I want to deal with overcrowded parking lots and having to go from store to store to find exactly what I’m looking for, when I can kick back in my undies, down a few glasses of egg nog, and get gifts for all my family and friends on MSN Shopping — without even getting out of bed?”

To provide consumers with a huge selection of products, MSN Shopping has collaborated with online shopping sites including Pricegrabber.com and Shopping.com. This year, MSN Shopping is offering seven times the number of items and 35 times the number of retailers over last year. Products range from the most well-known brands and most recognized merchants to mom-and-pop retailers with one-of-a-kind products.

“MSN Shopping’s goal is to make it easy for people to find exactly what they’re looking for and get the best value,” said Jim Barr, general manager for MSN Shopping. “With our brand-new site, we’ve added an even easier way to search and compare to find the perfect items, and we offer help along the way from shopping experts, so people can find something for everyone on their holiday list.”

This holiday season, to make it even more convenient for shoppers everywhere, MSN Shopping also features a Free Shipping Center, which lists merchants that will ship gifts for free; Procrastination Central, which begins Dec. 13 and offers hundreds of great last-minute gifts that retailers can ship for delivery by Christmas; and an exclusive savings program that offers savings of up to 65 percent on popular gifts.

Survey Methodology

Harris Interactive fielded the study on behalf of MSN Shopping Nov. 15–17, 2005, via its QuickQuerySM online omnibus, interviewing a nationwide sample of 2,027 U.S. adults age 18 and over. Data were weighted to be representative of the total U.S. online adult population on the basis of region, age within gender, education, household income, race/ethnicity, and amount of time spent online.

In theory, with a probability sample of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the overall results have a sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points of what they would be if the entire population of U.S. online adults had been polled with complete accuracy. Sampling error for the holiday shoppers sample (1,682) is plus or minus 4 percentage points. This online sample is not a probability sample.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive Inc. (www.harrisinteractive.com), based in Rochester, New York, is the 13th largest and the fastest-growing market research firm in the world, most widely known for The Harris Poll® and for its pioneering leadership in the online market research industry. Long recognized by its clients for delivering insights that enable confident business decisions, the Company blends the science of innovative research with the art of strategic consulting to deliver knowledge that leads to measurable and enduring value.

Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe (www.harrisinteractive.com/europe) and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in Paris, France (www.novatris.com), and through an independent global network of affiliate market research companies. EOE M/F/D/V

About MSN

MSN attracts more than 440 million unique users worldwide per month. With localized versions available globally in 41 markets and 21 languages, MSN is a world leader in delivering Web services to consumers and online advertising opportunities to businesses worldwide. The most useful and innovative online service today, MSN brings consumers everything they need from the Web to make the most of their time online. MSN is located on the Web at http://www.msn.com. MSN worldwide sites are located at http://www.msn.com/worldwide.ashx.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Microsoft and MSN are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.



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