FIFTY-FIVE PERCENT OF U.S. SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS EXPECT STRONG VALENTINE'S DAY SALES, ACCORDING TO CONSTANT CONTACT SURVEY

Seventy-one percent of small businesses anticipate stronger online sales, while 68 percent expect average customer to spend over $25

Waltham, MA. - January 24, 2006

The roses will be red and flowers and jewelry will be the preferred gifts - edging out chocolate - on Valentine's Day this year, according to U.S. small businesses owners who responded to Constant Contact's 2006 Small Business Valentine's Day Outlook* survey. While 55 percent of those surveyed anticipate strong Valentine's Day sales, an additional 71 percent are predicting stronger online sales this year, and are preparing sales and marketing plans to make it even more successful. Constant Contact (www.constantcontact.com) is the leading email marketing service for small businesses, associations and nonprofits.

Broken down by industry in terms of anticipated holiday sales, Hospitality (restaurant, travel, and lodging) led with 76 percent expecting strong sales this year, followed by Retail (specialty shop, clothing store, florist) at 63 percent, and Consumer Services (i.e. jewelers, spas, beauty salons, fitness and photography) at 48 percent.

"Holiday sales have become a vital component of the retail sales cycle for millions of small businesses," said Gail Goodman, CEO of Constant Contact. "Overall, we found 51 percent of U.S. small business owners believe Valentine's Day sales are important to their business and are optimistic that sales will be rosy this year."

According to the survey, U.S. small business owners plan aggressive marketing campaigns in 2006 to communicate their Valentine's Day offerings, with 70 percent of US small businesses planning promotional offers. When asked what marketing methods they planned to use, email marketing was the top vote getter at 76 percent, followed by online marketing at 49 percent, direct mail (25 percent), flyers (25 percent), and advertising (TV, radio, newspaper) at 16 percent.

Sample questions and results from Constant Contact's 2006 Small Business Valentine's Day Outlook* survey include the following:

"Do you anticipate a strong Valentine's Day season in sales for your business?"

Yes	55%
No	45%

"Is Valentine's Day an important holiday for your business?"

Yes	51%
No	49%

"How much do your customers (per individual) typically spend on Valentine's Day gifts?"

Less than $25	32%
Between $25 and $50	35%
Between $50 and $75	14%
Between $75 and $100	9%
More than $100	10%

"What do you think will be the most popular item during this year's Valentine's Day season?"

Flowers	59%
Jewelry	21%
Chocolates	16%
Clothing	4%

"What marketing methods will you use to promote your Valentine's Day offerings?"

Email marketing	76%
Online marketing	49%
Direct mail	25%
Flyers	25%
Advertising (TV, radio, newspaper)	16%

*The 2006 U.S. Small Business Valentine's Day Outlook survey was conducted through targeted online distribution to U.S. small business owners, who are current customers of Constant Contact, recording results from more than 400 respondents. The survey was conducted from December 29, 2005 through January 10, 2006.

About Constant Contact
With over 50,000 customers and a recent winner of SmallBusinessComputing.com's "Excellence in Technology Award," Constant Contact® is the leading permission Do-It-Yourself Email Marketing® service for small and medium businesses (SMBs) and associations. Constant Contact is a Web-based email marketing solution that enables small organizations to easily create and send professional HTML email newsletters, promotions, announcements and more with no technical expertise required. Designed and priced for SMBs, Constant Contact is affordable, easy-to-use and includes a free 60-day trial at: www.constantcontact.com. The service is marketed through over 1,500 Business Partners and more than 100 marquee channel partners including American Express OPEN, AOL, Corel, FTD, IBM, Interland, Network Solutions, Register.com, Website Pros and Yahoo Search Marketing. Constant Contact is a founding member of the Email Service Provider Coalition (ESPC), a group formed to fight spam while protecting the delivery of legitimate email. Constant Contact is funded by Morgan Stanley Venture Partners, Commonwealth Capital Ventures, Longworth Venture Partners and Hudson Ventures. For more information, please call 781-472-8100.

Please direct all press inquiries to:

Rosalind Morville Constant Contact 339-222-5772 rmorville@constantcontact.com