Nowadays, businesses are increasingly relying on data from their own operations and from the retail industry as a whole to make crucial decisions.
In the past, large retailers typically employed in-house analysts or other specialists to make sense of this type of data. However, with the rise of technology, both multinational retailers and brick-and-mortar shops are turning to automated solutions to make their life easier.
These solutions often take the form of software that can analyze various sources of data across the business to deliver accurate and actionable information, called retail analytics.
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Retail Analytics and The Future of Retail
In our latest blog post, we have covered 15 of the most eye-catching retail analytics companies to watch in 2021. You will be hearing these names even more in the near future if you are in the retail world.
What is retail analytics?
Retail analytics is the collective name given to sets of analytical data that help a retailer manage various operations of their business, like optimizing inventory and procurement to ensure that they are stocking what the customers are buying.
Retail analytics can also be used to inform and guide marketing efforts, helping business managers to assess the performance of previous campaigns and sales offers to predict future behavior.
Related: Top 10 Retail Analytics and Technology Trends to Know in 2021
Retailers often use one or several types of software to obtain the data necessary for retail analytics. Below, you will find some of the top companies offering both comprehensive and niche retail analytics solutions for businesses.
Top retail analytics companies to watch in 2021
1. Dor
Location: California, USA
Year founded: 2015
Total investment: Raised $12.3M in funding
Number of employees: 11-50
What they do: Foot traffic analytics company Dor offers a people counting solution that includes a hardware and software for retailers of any size.
The company’s battery-operated thermal sensor is equipped with advanced machine-learning algorithms, which allow the system to improve itself and get more efficient at counting people over time.
It's peel-and-stick sensor can easily be installed in minutes by anyone. Dor also offers user-friendly software that integrates with POS systems to display retail analytics data on an easy-to-read dashboard.
Click here to discover how a people counting solution like Dor can help you make better business decisions based on your store's foot traffic data.
2. True Fit
Location: Massachusetts, USA
Year founded: 2010
Total investment: Raised $97.4M in funding
Number of employees: 51-100
What they do: A personalization platform designed specifically for footwear and apparel retailers, True Fit allows brands to provide consumers with customized recommendations based on data culled from its Fashion GenomeTM, a massive collection of industry data on product attributes such as fit and style.
In addition to providing customers with reliable information and engaging content, retailers using True Fit's True Personalization Platform can also obtain valuable retail analytics and insights on consumer preferences.
3. Orbital Insight
Location: California, USA
Year founded: 2013
Total investment: Raised $128.7M in funding
Number of employees: 101-250
What they do: Orbital Insight uses satellite and geospatial data sources to offer large-scale object detection, land use and geolocation services.
The company uses big data to map out and analyze socio-behavioral trends on a regional or global scale. For retailers with multiple locations, this data can have a huge impact on real estate decisions.
4. Cuebiq
Location: New York, USA
Year founded: 2015
Total investment: Raised $33.1M in funding
Number of employees: 51-100
What they do: Cuebiq caters to brick-and-mortar stores with location intelligence services.
Powered by its platform, Clara, Cuebiq provides marketers and decision-makers with data-based feedback on how their social media marketing, video marketing or email marketing efforts impact consumer behavior offline, thus helping them to develop new in-store strategies to bring in more customers and maximize their return on advertising spending (ROAS).
5. Rubikloud
Location: Toronto, Canada
Year founded: 2013
Total investment: Raised $45.5M in funding
Number of employees: 51-100
What they do: Rubikloud’s cloud-based, AI-powered platform uses machine learning to parse big data and provide retailers with a variety of retail intelligence metrics.
With Rubikloud’s cloud-based enterprise software, store managers or brand executives can obtain accurate demand forecasts and other crucial information to help them maximize profits by optimizing their overall pricing and promotion plans.
6. Radius Networks
Location: Washington, D.C., USA
Year founded: 2011
Total investment: Raised $24.5M in funding
Number of employees: 11-50
What they do: Radius Networks is a retail analytics provider that uses location data to help companies streamline and manage their curbside and in-store pickup, mobile order and delivery as well as other operations.
For retailers that offer the option to Buy Online, Pick Up in Store (BOPIS), knowing exactly where their customers are and how long it will be until their arrival can make all the difference when it comes to eliminating wait times and improving customer service.
7. Wasteless
Location: Tel Aviv, Israel
Year founded: 2016
Total investment: Raised $4.2M in funding
Number of employees: 11-50
What they do: A relative newcomer to the retail analytics scene, Wasteless aims to reduce food waste at retailers and supermarkets by implementing dynamic pricing.
The startup relies on machine learning and real-time tracking to help sellers offer their goods at different price points depending on expiration dates, thus boosting their revenues while helping consumers adopt more environmentally conscious shopping habits.
8. Mappedin
Location: Ontario, Canada
Year founded: 2011
Total investment: Raised $6.9M in funding
Number of employees: 11-50
What they do: Another location-based services provider on our list, Mappedin specializes in offering way finding solutions for businesses with large spaces. In the retail space, Mappedin is most popular for its use in malls, as it can be used to create digital directories and maps for multiple locations.
By providing spatial analytics, Mappedin also helps property owners and decision-makers in retail offer location-based promotions or create unique customer journeys to increase engagement with shoppers and boost conversion rates.
9. Exchange Solutions
Location: Toronto, Canada
Year founded: 1996
Financials: Estimated annual revenue of $11M
Number of employees: 51-100
What they do: Exchange Solutions specializes in offering customer engagement and loyalty programs as well as other personalized solutions for brands looking to increase customer retention and profits.
Using machine learning and AI, the company has developed the tools necessary to maximize conversion rates, alongside cloud-based platforms that help businesses view, manage and engage with their customers.
10. Sensing Feeling
Location: London, United Kingdom
Year founded: 2016
Total investment: Raised £436.5K in funding
Number of employees: 1-10
What they do: A relatively new startup, Sensing Feeling uses IoT technology to detect and analyze the behavior of groups of people in certain physical spaces based on their facial expressions. This technology provides real-time data on a web-based console without infringing on the privacy of users, as there is no facial recognition or video recording involved.
11. Sightcorp
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Year founded: 2013
Financials: Estimated annual revenue of $4M
Number of employees: 11-50
What they do: Similar to Sensing Feeling, Sightcorp utilizes AI software to analyze the faces of potential shoppers in-store to help retailers gauge customer satisfaction. The company offers several options that meet the needs of retailers, from simple face recognition technology to cloud-based services and deep learning technologies that get more accurate at facial analysis over time.
12. Blesh
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Year founded: 2013
Total investment: Raised $4M in funding
Number of employees: 11-50
What they do: This Istanbul-based location intelligence platform provides advertisers and enterprises with information on space utilization and consumer behavior.
Using a combination of beacons, geofencing, WiFi, GPS and other data sources, Blesh provides retail analytics for brands, which they in turn use to provide hyper-local ad targeting and smart messaging for consumers.
13. Edited
Location: London, United Kingdom
Year founded: 2009
Total investment: Raised $6M in funding
Number of employees: 51-100
What they do: Edited is designed to help retailers automate their pricing and promotion decisions. The machine learning-powered platform not only pulls market-specific pricing data to help retailers optimize pricing, but it also enables them to track and analyze the lifecycle of their products to ensure they are discounting at the exact right time.
Edited also offers an archive of information on promotions from past years to help retailers time their seasonal sales accordingly. Last but not least, users can benchmark their marketing communication efforts against those of the competitors to ensure they're standing out from the crowd.
14. Vend
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Year founded: 2009
Total investment: Raised $46.5M in funding
Number of employees: 251-500
What they do: Vend is a provider of cloud-based point of sale (POS) software for retailers to manage their operations across one or multiple stores. The company provides retail analytics tools such as POS reporting on customer and inventory data, thus enabling clients to run their stores even remotely, regardless of their physical location.
15. Datapine
Location: Berlin, Germany
Year founded: 2012
Total investment: Raised $3M in funding
Number of employees: 11-50
What they do: The German data analytics firm Datapine relies on AI to deliver analytics software for businesses. Using their cloud-based Software as a service (SaaS) BI distribution model, Datapine provides businesses with analytical information and consumer insights derived from numerous data sources, all made available on an easy-to-navigate dashboard.
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