Mirakl, which engineers online marketplaces for retailers and brands, has acquired Target2Sell, an e-commerce personalization vendor.
Target2Sell, through AI technology, automatically vets products and third-party sellers in a way that is more aligned with customer preferences for products they are likely to purchase.
The companies said that Target2Sell technology drives as much as 15 percent higher conversion rates through “a tailored shopping experience” and enables marketplaces to “instantly achieve curation at scale.” They did not disclose the sale price.
Mirakl also revealed that among other upcoming additions to its business, Payout, which simplifies for marketplace operators those functions associated with bringing on international sellers, will be available in the second half of 2022. Integrating sellers from overseas presents challenges dealing with regulatory compliance and licensing, foreign exchange and other nuances that vary from market to market.
“Mirakl’s vision has always been to make it easy and fast for our customers to launch and scale the world’s leading online marketplaces. The acquisition of Target2Sell and our new platform innovations represent the next step in providing Mirakl-powered Marketplaces with the technology, ecosystem and expertise to scale without limits, all while maintaining their unique brand DNA,” Adrien Nussenbaum, cofounder and co-chief executive officer of Mirakl, said in a statement. “By expanding our suite of industry-leading marketplace solutions, only Mirakl can provide businesses with everything they need to take full advantage of the marketplace economy.”
“Target2Sell’s technology is designed in a way that allows business users to make the most of the embedded AI by implementing their custom objectives while delivering real business outcomes, making it a perfect match for Mirakl’s industry-leading marketplace solution,” said Johan Lambert, CEO, Target2Sell. “By joining the Mirakl team, we’re looking forward to raising the bar for the platform model and solidifying Mirakl’s position as the only marketplace solution that enables enterprises to deliver the highest quality, most profitable interactions with buyers and sellers at scale. In the months ahead, we will also collaborate to develop the next wave of innovative products to ensure Mirakl customers continue to grow without limits and operate the world’s most successful enterprise marketplaces.”
Express, Hudson’s Bay, Best Buy, Stadium Goods, Lands’ End, Crate & Barrel, Urban Outfitters and StockX are among the scores of online marketplaces that have been launched in recent seasons, providing fuel for digital growth. Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s are building online marketplaces to launch in the second half of this year. The format enables retailers to present wider assortments and reach more consumers who they hope won’t surf competitors on the internet as much to get what they want.
Mirakl executives noted that the most common challenges for new marketplaces is maintaining brand identity and personalized customer experiences while scaling those assortments.
As part of the package of initiatives disclosed Thursday, in May Mirakl is introducing AI-powered product data mapping and customer care intelligence “that take the quality of marketplace customer experience to the next level.” The product data mapping eases product discovery for customers because products are better categorized on marketplace front pages, reducing the time and complexity of onboarding third-party sellers’ catalogues.
Mirakl also revealed:
- FastTrack, an onboarding service “to accelerate the activation of sellers and the integration of their catalogues” on their marketplaces. It starts operating in the fall.
- One Creditor, a platform helping Mirakl customers meet the needs of large corporate buyers with a single transaction. This will be available to b-to-b customers in the European Union in the fall, with general availability to follow subsequently. One Creditor streamlines the invoicing processes and ensures compliance with tax regulations, so marketplace operators can avoid the headache of excessive manual intervention, Mirakl noted.
- Customer Care Intelligence, a tool using AI to identify escalating customer cases, mitigate incidents before they arise and flagging those that need attention immediately. Mirakl said it allows online marketplaces to manage larger seller bases and order volumes with fewer resources. It will be available beginning in May.
Mirakl’s second annual Enterprise Marketplace Index showed that online marketplaces grew at twice the rate of traditional e-commerce, while the number of businesses that began selling on marketplaces increased by 46 percent from 2020 to 2021.
In 2021, $4.3 billion in transactions occurred on Mirakl-engineered online marketplaces, with Mirakl exceeding $100 million in annual revenue. Also last year, Mirakl closed $555 million in Series E funding led by Silver Lake, placing the company’s valuation over $3.5 billion — a 230 percent increase in one year, according to the company.