Can big data help other retailers keep up with Amazon’s online success in areas like product recommendation? David Selinger, one of the company’s former software managers from the recommendation team and a small team of his old colleagues, are trying to do just that with RichRelevance.
Plenty of retailers consider Amazon as the “common enemy” and serial entrepreneur David Selinger, co-founder and chief executive officer of RichRelevance, can certainly understand that. As a former software manager in customer behavior research at Amazon from 2003 to late 2004, Selinger has been in the belly of the e-commerce giant beast.
Selinger worked on the product recommendation technology that online shoppers have come to know well—the “recommended for you” suggestions that appear like the digital shopping buddy you didn’t know you have but who is always at the ready tempting you with ideas on what you should buy next.
“[At Amazon’s recommendation team, we asked ourselves] how do we take this data and make a little bit more money, how do we apply it in this channel differently and it was really neat,” said Selinger who I met in New York Tuesday before his speaking engagement at a DataLove event. “Now it is being called ‘big data’ in the marketing and media world, but at the time we were doing this stuff, it was just kind of putting one foot in front of the other.”
RichRelevance, the San Francisco-based company Selinger launched in 2006, has especially benefited from the Amazon “big data” experience that Selinger and the ex-colleagues bring to their websites, as he says a growing number of retailers are finally beginning to see Amazon, which has been making moves into new areas such as fashion apparel, for the competitor it has always been as it amasses sales in category after endless category.
“After I left Amazon, I realized how far behind all the other retailers were,”Selinger said. “So I started RichRelevance to arm other retailers with the prediction that data would become a battlefield on which retail was going to get fought.”
Other retailers, he says, were woefully underarmed in terms of not just core technical and data knowledge but also with the business acumen to be able to turn the data into something actionable. Initially his company started out with the recommender systems which Amazon is famous for that suggest that if you like one product, you might like more.
Through a cloud-based service, RichRelevance now delivers 140 “predictive models,” which can tell retailers things such as how much a consumer is going to spend next, what brands they want and which product categories they want, giving them a better sense of who their customers are and what they will spring for so that they can market to them accordingly.
RichRelevance isn’t the only company offering recommendation technology. Our colleagues over at the San Francisco Business Times, who named Selinger to the 40 Under 40 list, have reported that its California rivals include Cupertino-based Baynote, Redwood City-based MyBuys, San Mateo-based Aggregate Knowledge Inc. and in Cambridge, Massachusetts, there’s ChoiceStream.
That said, RichRelevance has a pretty enviable list of clients including six of the top 10 U.S. online retailers. Its list includes Walmart, Target, Office Depot, and Costco as well as specialty retailers such as Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Barneys. What they want? The same type of data about their customers that Amazon has been mining for a decade, so that they too can provide online recommendations to customers.
As a result of the data, RichRelevance clients have seen sales increases of anywhere between 3 percent and 15 percent, depending on the type of retailer and other factors. Of course, each retailer wants something a bit different and it appears differently on their websites.
The retailers want to compete with Amazon and get the same type of conversion from browser to selling results, but not look the same.
“You have to get them all to this baseline and that’s how you kind of catch up with Amazon if you will,” Selinger says. “But then you have to let them customize.”
There’s a few blunders that retailers make when it comes to data, he says. One is buying tools to collect it themselves without really knowing how they can use it. The other is thinking that data can achieve things that, perhaps it can and perhaps it can’t.
The key blunder as he says it is “overthinking the problems and over-specifying the solutions when the process here is much like any other technology exploration process.” Instead, he says to think like a big data person: “Don’t overspecify (but ask a question like) ‘I’d like to within the next three months be able to better communicate with my top customers. End.”
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When Diane Kegley started her career in the technology sector 20 years ago, she was warned that she was entering a ‘man’s world.’ But she has always firmly believed that a successful career in technology is due to talent – note genera. Now Chief Marketing Officer at global company, RichRelevance, which works with retailers such as Marks & Spencer and John Lewis to offer personalized shopping experiences, she shares her views on why the ‘geeky’ perception of tech jobs needs to be reversed – and why employers need to spread the word at school level.
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RichRelevance to demo the latest in data-driven personalization at Innovation Lab
Shop.org Annual Summit – Chicago, IL – Sept. 30, 2013 –– RichRelevance®, the global leader in omni-channel personalization, today announced that it will be showcasing the latest personalization innovations in the industry at the Shop.org Annual Summit this week. During the event, the company’s Personalization Innovation Lab will give attendees hands-on access to the latest technologies that are propelling data-driven optimization. Through product demos and presentations, RichRelevance will showcase how data can be used to reach the right consumer with the right message at the right time – and drive meaningful results.
The Innovation Lab will be located at RichRelevance booth (#1004) and will include the following innovative solutions:
- RichConnect: The newest addition to the RichRelevance product suite, RichConnect optimizes triggered emails based on real-time shopper behavior, determining not only which email to send your shopper, but also the email most likely to result in a purchase if your shopper qualifies for more than one campaign. The new product innovates the use of real-time data for automated message optimization and segmentation.
- DataMesh: DataMesh is the externalization of the {rr} cloud platform that powers every RichRelevance application. Through DataMesh, retailers and brands can access the same Big-Data technology used by the most innovative companies in the world without the expensive costs of building and maintaining a real-time infrastructure. Terabytes of data can be easily ingested into the platform from many sources, to create new applications that personalize shopping across all channels.
- RichPromo: RichPromo enables retailers to provide a more engaging shopping experience by delivering the most relevant and effective campaigns to target customer segments. Retailers gain more effective control over optimizing which creative should be shown in real time, increasing conversion and scaling content personalization.
- RichContent: With RichContent, site visitors can have a personalized experience based on content that best matches their interests. This solution enables retailers, consumer brands, media and hospitality sites to deliver personalized experiences by analyzing real-time behavior (based on both implicit and explicit inputs) and re-architecting site content to reflect a consumer’s true interests. This solution is best used with videos, articles, photos, and products.
“Personalization remains imperative as consumers glide seamlessly between channels and expectations continue to rise,” said VP of Product Marketing and Solutions, Jake Bailey. “Mobile and social, as well as evolving consumer habits, are dramatically changing the way retailers and consumers interact, presenting an opportunity for the retailers to take control of data and insights to create omni-channel success. We’re excited to showcase our latest innovations at Shop.org.”
RichRelevance Director of Consumer Innovation, Brad Cerenzia, will also be participating in the Shop.org’s “Doctor Is In” website critique one-on-ones to provide his guidance and expertise on multi-channel strategy, end-to-end customer experience, site design, and merchandising best practices to retailers in need of assistance. His “Doctor Is In” session runs from 1:00-4:40 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, October 1st on the Expo Floor.
RichRelevance is also partnering with Tealium and R/GA to host Chillapalooza, an invitation-only event on Monday, September 30th with chilly beverages, light appetizers and relaxing massages so attendees can unwind. To request an invite, please email events@richrelevance.com.
About RichRelevance
RichRelevance is the global leader in omni-channel personalization. More than 160 international companies use RichRelevance to turn data into actionable insight, which delivers the most relevant experience for consumers as they shop across web, store and mobile. RichRelevance drives more than one billion decisions every day, and has delivered over $8 billion in attributable sales to its clients, which include Walmart, Marks & Spencer and Cdiscount. Recently, the company opened its cloud-based platform to allow clients to easily merge disparate data sources and build real-time applications tailored to their specific business needs. RichRelevance is headquartered in San Francisco and serves clients in 40 countries from 10 offices around the globe. For more information, please visit www.richrelevance.com.
Retailers are recognizing that creating a more personalized experience for shoppers will not only improve user satisfaction but also increase sales.
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Selinger joins Square Inc.’s Gokul Rajaram in conversation on how emerging technologies and consumer habits are shaping the grocery industry at the California Game Changers Conference
San Francisco, CA – Sept. 26, 2013 –– RichRelevance®, the global leader in omni-channel personalization, today announced that CEO David Selinger will host the keynote luncheon at the California Grocer’s Association’s Annual Strategic Conference. Selinger will also moderate a conversation with Square Inc.’s Gokul Rajaram, Head of Product Engineering, to discuss how emerging technology and consumer habits are disrupting traditional shopping patterns. The keynote luncheon takes place on October 1 at 12:00 p.m. PST at the Palm Springs Convention Center in Palm Springs, California.
“The rapid decline of FSIs, combined with disruptive new technologies that are shifting how consumers absorb content and plan their path to purchase, has created a new world order for grocers and suppliers,” said Selinger. “We’ll share different approaches from across retail that grocery retailers can leverage to reinvigorate their customer relationships in this new Super Consumer-dominated world.”
The California Grocer’s Association Strategic Conference is the annual gathering of the California grocery industry and brings together the top retail decision-makers representing the broad spectrum of California’s grocery industry and leading suppliers. The three-day event takes place Sept. 29- Oct. 1 at the Palm Springs Convention Center.
More information on the conference and full schedule of events is available at http://cgastrategicconference.com/.
About RichRelevance
RichRelevance is the global leader in personalization for the world’s largest retailers and brands. More than 160 international companies use RichRelevance to turn data into actionable insight, which delivers the most relevant experience for consumers as they shop across web, store and mobile. RichRelevance drives more than one billion decisions every day, and has delivered over $8 billion in attributable sales to its clients, which include Walmart, Marks & Spencer and Cdiscount. RichRelevance is headquartered in San Francisco and serves clients in 40 countries from 9 offices around the globe. For more information, please visit www.richrelevance.com.
Invitation-only salon explores how brands and retailers can use Big Data to personalize multiple channels, persuade advocates and drive participation to scale the conversation
San Francisco, CA – Sept. 24, 2013 — RichRelevance, the global leader in omni-channel personalization, today announced DataLove in New York on October 8. The DataLove event features David Selinger, CEO of RichRelevance, and Rayid Ghani, former Chief Scientist at Obama for America 2012, in a practical exploration of how marketers can harness the power and potential of Big Data to transform their businesses. As the Chief Scientist for President Barack Obama’s winning re-election effort, Ghani helped revolutionize the role of data, segmentation and marketing in campaign outreach. At DataLove, Selinger and Ghani will share insights and best practices from the campaign trail to the front lines of major brands and retailers who are transforming their Big Data into winning marketing campaigns.
“Data is changing everything – from politics to retail – and shifting how every company looks at consumers and how consumers look at the companies that serve them,” said Selinger. “DataLove shines new light on the Big Data issues facing retailers and brands today, building on one of the most famous and successful data strategies ever executed. Empowering your consumers as influencers is the most important and least talked about part of your personalization strategy: not just the right place, right time, right message – but also the right messenger.”
“Using data to empower and engage your supporters at scale, and turning them into advocates and influencers, creates a very powerful force to drive your business, your campaign and your message forward,” said Ghani, who is currently at the University of Chicago’s Computation Institute and Harris School of Public Policy.
The DataLove event continues the momentum and discussion of RichRelevance’s previous Future of Shopping series to tackle the biggest issues in marketing and personalization today, including practical insights and examples from the Obama campaign and the world’s largest retailers and brands, as well as how to:
- Use data to connect the right message and messenger
- Scale personal conversations with customers
- Rapidly build data systems when every moment matters
- Define the right metrics and operationalize the insights
The invitation-only salon will be held in New York City on October 8 at 11:30 a.m. ET at the W Hotel New York. More information is available here.
About RichRelevance
RichRelevance is the global leader in omni-channel personalization. More than 160 international companies use RichRelevance to turn data into actionable insight, which delivers the most relevant experience for consumers as they shop across web, store and mobile. RichRelevance drives more than one billion decisions every day, and has delivered over $8 billion in attributable sales to its clients, which include Walmart, Marks & Spencer and Cdiscount. Recently, the company opened its cloud-based platform to allow clients to easily merge disparate data sources and build real-time applications tailored to their specific business needs. RichRelevance is headquartered in San Francisco and serves clients in 40 countries from 10 offices around the globe. For more information, please visit www.richrelevance.com