20(b) Explain the applicant's relationship to the community identified in 20(a)

Prototypical answer:

We are the original applicant for .SHOP from the 2000 round. While there were other applicants in the initial rounds, Commercial Connect was the only one that made it through the entire qualification process. When delegation of .SHOP was put off until the ʺnextʺ round, CC has been working with the above community to establish its relationship and representation in that community.

Initially, since there was no clear community representation, we worked on establishing some form of a member trade association. The result was the creation of ECWR.net (eCommerce World Retailers). This was formed in March, 2004 and clearly predates the 2007 requirement in the Applicant Guidebook. We currently have in excess of 1,000 members representing a substantial amount of eCommerce (these members represent an equilivant in excess of $866 trillion in annual sales). However, Commercial Connectʹs being a trade union is not our mission. We merely want to aid in the organization and education of our community. For the first time in history, KPMG and the US National Retail Federation reported in Feb. 2012 in their annual worldwide survey that retailers’ websites or online channels eclipsed physical stores as the top channel for marketers (81% for brick-and-mortar vs. 86% online). As such, retail executives have spoken that they will invest in programs, like .SHOP, that directly resonate with today’s shopper. We have for you more than 1,500 letters from CEOs, politicians, and trade organizations that support Commercial Connect’s application for .SHOP, written over the last decade, as a step to a better online shopping experience that is safer, stable, and secure. According to the KPMG survey, 85 percent of all retail corporations worldwide will emphasize increasing online sales, up from 83 percent in 2011, and 38 percent will have a greater focus on increasing eCommerce sales over the next year, up from 29 percent in 2011.

Commercial Connect has communicated to key retail trade organizations across the world in the last decade through trade shows, private meetings, and email correspondence, its desire to operate the registry for eCommerce on the Internet and become a representative entity for this community. Commercial Connect will continue to work as this representative entity by educating and assisting in the growth and development of eCommerce worldwide.

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