A number of companies that were set up to help online merchants through the use of data-driven services have received funding lately, proving that ecommerce is not immune from the “big data” craze. One such company, Channel IQ, is developing what it calls the world’s largest retail data exchange.
Channel IQ CEO Wes Sheperd said his platform connects manufacturers and retailers, providing unprecedented access to sales, pricing information and product catalogs, as well as market and competitor insights. His company closed a $12 million funding round from Drive Capital last week.
Israeli firm Feedvisor raised $1.7 million in venture funding last month for what it calls the world’s first “Algo-Pricing solution” for online retailers, led by JAL Ventures and including participation from early stage investors Oryzn Capital and Micro Angel Fund. Feedvisor uses machine learning to help Amazon merchants make automated, accurate and time-critical decisions.
Granify raised $1.5 million in seed funding from Valar Ventures, iNovia Capital, Klass Capital, BDC, Extreme Startups, Social Starts and angel investors. Its technology uses big data and machine learning to predict in real-time whether a high-intent shopper will or won’t buy; predicts why shopper won’t buy; and show a contextual message to influence their decision.
“Big data” is a favorite buzzword these days. Feedvisor’s Director of Marketing Shmuli Goldberg said that in generic terms, big data is the term for techniques used when dealing with vast amounts of information. “In our case specifically, it refers to the way we are able to collect, analyze, and make conclusions from the massive amounts of historical pricing and Buy Box data that we collect on a on-going basis.”
As the examples cited above demonstrate, using data wisely has the potential to boost margins and increase conversions for online merchants, and investors are banking on it.
