The acquisition of personalization provider 4-Tell elevates Searchspring’s recommendation engine while enabling merchandisers to orchestrate more personalized shopping experiences in less time

Searchspring announced that it acquired 4-Tell, the company behind AI-driven personalization platform, Smart Commerce. The deal propels Searchspring toward its vision to be the single destination where merchandisers can orchestrate personalized shopping experiences in real-time.

“We are excited to welcome the 4-Tell team to Searchspring. Their technology allows us to speed up the delivery of enhanced product recommendations while enabling personalization across our entire suite of features,” stated Searchspring CEO, Peter Messana. “We gained great technology, the team that built it, and a customer base that can now benefit from our advanced search.”

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The personalization engine at the center of this acquisition was developed in 2009 and placed in the top 1.5% out of over 40,000 entries in the Netflix Prize, a competition designed to accurately predict how much a viewer would enjoy a selection based on preference. Receiving demand from visionary ecommerce operators, 4-Tell turned its sights on ecommerce recommendations and powers beloved brands like Bob’s Red Mill, Dakine, and 2Modern.

To dominate in ecommerce today, brands must go beyond merely launching a shop — over 97% of ecommerce shoppers don’t convert. However, personalized shopping experiences drive stronger conversion rates, higher return on ad spend (ROAS), and larger average order values (AOV). Eighty percent of consumers state they are more likely to buy from a brand that offers a personalized experience.

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“Our team is thrilled to join Searchspring and apply our AI-powered personalization to Searchspring’s search, merchandising, recommendations, and analytics” stated Neil Lofgren, CTO and Co-founder at 4-Tell. “This is also a great opportunity for 4-Tell customers who will have access to more advanced search and merchandising capabilities alongside the personalization they love.”

In addition to fast-forwarding its roadmap by almost two years, this acquisition stacks Searchspring’s team with seasoned personalization experts. On the back of last month’s VP of Product hire and expansion into Asia Pacific, the purchase reflects the speed at which Searchspring is moving to be the dominant technology provider for online merchandisers in an era when the whole world has its eyes on ecommerce.

Speaking of speed, Searchspring plans to roll out its new personalization features in October of this year.

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