Coastal.com Ranks #3 in Social Media on the Web by Internet Retailer Magazine

1/18/2013 3:20 PM EST

Coastal Contacts Inc
Company Announcement

Coastal.com Ranks #3 in Social Media on the Web by Internet Retailer Magazine

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, 2013-01-18 21:20 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Coastal
Contacts Inc. ("Coastal") (Nasdaq:COA) (TSX:COA) (Stockholm:COA), the leading
online retailer of vision care products, announced today that it is ranked #3
overall in the 2013 Social Media 300 by industry leading Internet Retailer
magazine. 

Internet Retailer estimates that Coastal.com generated approximately 25% of its
search traffic from social media sources including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest
and YouTube, the third highest percentage in the ecommerce market. 

The Top 10 in the 2013 Social Media 300 as published by InternetRetailer.com

  1. www.Petflow.com
  2. www.Fab.com
  3. www.Coastal.com
  4. www.Totsy.com
  5. www.Birchbox.com
  6. www.KingArthurFlour.com
  7. www.JackThreads.com
  8. www.NBA.com
  9. www.Nastygal.com
 10. www.ModCloth.com

"Our strategy to communicate with existing and new customers through social
media channels has created a definite increase in traffic, brand awareness and
customer engagement for Coastal.com," commented Aaron Magness, Coastal.com's VP
of Marketing. "The importance of social media is on the rise as we create a
community of Coastal.com users and they, in turn, generate further content
about our products and how they feel about Coastal.com. With more than 900,000
'likes' or 'friends' the effect has gone viral and is a key piece of our
marketing strategy going forward." 

"Ultimately, social media is a valuable tool for business as it results in
lower customer acquisition costs as our customers become our sales force,"
stated Roger Hardy, Coastal's Founder and CEO. "It has always been our goal to
serve customers in a way that inspires them to share their experience with
friends and family, giving Coastal an X-factor in growing our business." 

About Coastal Contacts

Coastal Contacts Inc. is one of the largest online retailers of vision care
products in the world. Coastal empowers customers to easily browse, try on and
buy eyewear—saving time, money and sanity. With every pair of qualifying frames
purchased, Coastal donates a pair to someone in need through its Change the
View project. Founded in 2000, Coastal designs, produces and distributes the
largest selection of glasses and contact lenses on the Internet, including a
unique combination of designer glasses, contact lenses, sunglasses, and vision
care accessories. Coastal serves customers in more than 150 countries through
the Coastal Contacts family of websites including: Coastal.com,
ClearlyContacts.ca, Lensway.com, Lensway.co.uk, Lensway.se, Lensway.com.br,
ClearlyContacts.com.au, ClearlyContacts.co.nz, Contactsan.com, and
Coastallens.com. 

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This News Release may contain "forward-looking statements" as defined in the
U.S. Securities Act of 1933, the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian
securities legislation concerning the business, operations and financial
performance and condition of Coastal. Statements that are not historical fact
are forward-looking statements. The words "may", "would", "could", "will",
"intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "goal",
"target", "should," "likely," "potential," "continue," "project," "forecast,"
"prospects," and similar expressions typically are used to identify
forward-looking statements. Examples of such forward-looking statements include
statements relating to: Coastal's perception of the contact lens and eyeglasses
industry or market and anticipated trends in that market in any of the
countries in which Coastal does business; its anticipated ability to procure
products and supplies, or the terms under which it procures products and
supplies; Coastal's anticipated business operations, inventory levels, ability
to handle specific order and call volumes, ability to fill and ship orders in a
timely manner, ability to achieve greater marketing efficiency or similar
statements; ability to increase its production; plans for capital expenditure
plans; relationships with suppliers; anticipated results of operations,
including but not limited to anticipated sales, revenues, earnings, tax
benefits or similar matters; the effects of seasonality; sufficiency of cash
flows; and Coastal's perceptions regarding volatility in and impact of foreign
currency exchange rates. 

Forward-looking statements are based on the then current expectations, beliefs,
assumptions, estimates and forecasts about Coastal's business and the industry
and markets in which it operates. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees
of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions which
are difficult to predict. Assumptions underlying Coastal's expectations
regarding forward-looking statements or information contained herein include,
among others: that Coastal will maintain its position in the markets it
operates in and will expand into other markets in a favorable manner; that it
will have sufficient capital to continue making investments in advertising,
inventory, property, equipment and leasehold improvements as well as personnel
to support its business and new product lines, including its eyeglasses
business; that Coastal will be able to generate and maintain sufficient cash
flows to support its operations; that it will be successful in complying with
industry regulatory requirements in British Columbia and other jurisdictions;
that Coastal will be able to establish and/or maintain necessary relationships
with suppliers; and that it will retain key personnel. The foregoing list of
assumptions is not exhaustive. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking
statements or information are only predictions, and that Coastal's actual
future results or performance may be materially different due to a number of
factors. These factors include, but are not limited to: changes in the market;
potential downturns in economic conditions; consumer credit risk; Coastal's
ability to implement its business strategies; competition; limited suppliers;
inventory risk; disruption in its distribution facilities; mergers and
acquisitions; foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; regulatory
requirements; demand for products Coastal sells; competition and dependence on
the internet as well as those risks described in the securities filings of
Coastal. 

Although Coastal believes that its plans, intentions and expectations reflected
in or suggested by such forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual
results could differ materially from a projection or assumption in any of its
forward-looking statements. Coastal's future financial condition and results of
operations, as well as any forward-looking statements, are subject to change
and inherent risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements contained
herein are made only as of the date hereof. Coastal does not have, or
undertake, any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements
whether as a result of new information, subsequent events or otherwise, unless
otherwise required by law. 

CONTACT: Terry VanderkruykVice President, Corporate DevelopmentCoastal Contacts
Inc.604.676.4498terryv@coastal.comorLiolios Group Inc.Scott Liolios or Cody