Author Archives: RichRelevance

Retailer expects to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty

Chicago – June 11, 2008 – Sears is now bringing its customer-centric in-store experience online through personalized product recommendations powered by RichRelevance™. Sears.com and Kmart.com are currently running RichRelevance’s turnkey solution, which analyzes shopper behavior to customize each shopper’s online experience from homepage through checkout.

“We are committed to providing our customers with the best possible shopping experience, no matter how they interact with us,” said Jim Barr, President, Online for Sears Holdings. “With RichRelevance, we’re able to provide our online customers with recommendations that allow them to find what they’re looking for faster and easier.”

Richrelevance analyzes more than 15 distinct types of consumer shopping behavior to predict which products are relevant to which shoppers. Attributes analyzed include a shopper’s previous purchases, key search terms and specific brand-preferences. Each time a shopper visits Sears.com or Kmart.com, RichRelevance will choose the best recommendations at every point in the shopping flow from item selection to purchase completion. This multi-algorithmic approach to product recommendations has consistently outperformed collaborative filtering—the status quo for recommendation technology.

“Imagine walking into a store and having the items you wanted to purchase already laid out for you – that’s essentially what we do for Sears customers,” said RichRelevance CEO and Founder David Selinger. “We create a unique shopping experience for each customer, helping shoppers find what they want, faster–which in turn boosts basket size, incremental sales and loyalty for the retailer.”

Offering personalized recommendations takes a fresh approach to presenting products, services, and solutions for Sears’ customers throughout each stage of their lives, from in-store to online shopping.

RichRelevance powers next-generation merchandising and personalized recommendations on eCommerce sites, optimizing every stage of the shopping experience from homepage to follow-up emails. The company’s product outperforms collaborative filtering solutions through use of more than fifteen recommendation types combined with transparent messaging, continuous optimization, and merchandiser controls. The company is privately held and headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Sears Holdings Corporation is the nation’s fourth largest broadline retailer, with approximately $50 billion in annual revenues, and with approximately 3,800 full-line and specialty retail stores in the United States and Canada. Sears Holdings is the leading home appliance retailer as well as a leader in tools, lawn and garden, home electronics and automotive repair and maintenance. Key proprietary brands include Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard, and a broad apparel offering, including such well-known labels as Lands’ End, Jaclyn Smith and Joe Boxer, as well as the Apostrophe and Covington brands. It also has Martha Stewart Everyday products, which are offered exclusively in the U.S. by Kmart and in Canada by Sears Canada. The Company is the nation’s largest provider of home services, with more than 13 million service calls made annually. For more information, visit Sears Holdings’ website at http://www.searsholdings.com.RichRelevance.

Former PayPal executive to lead growth strategy and manage expanding client base

San Francisco, Calif. – June 9, 2008 – RichRelevance™, the exclusive provider of next generation personalized recommendations for eCommerce businesses, announced today the hiring of former PayPal executive Todd Pearson as Chief Customer Officer to oversee all customer-facing operations including Sales and Marketing. Pearson adds to an experienced retail executive team, led by CEO and founder David Selinger, formerly the head of Amazon’s Personalization R&D group and a technology executive at Overstock.com.

Pearson joins RichRelevance after eight years at PayPal where he held key roles building several business units and recently as Vice President of Sales. In this role, Pearson managed a team of 120 employees and was responsible for $125M in revenue in 2007, selling to a full range of eCommerce merchants and channel partners.

“I’ve been in ecommerce a long time, and very rarely does a company come along with this kind of potential,” said Pearson. “When I saw first-hand that RichRelevance is consistently delivering 10-20% sales lift to its customers — significantly outperforming collaborative filtering — I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. I’m excited to join a business that will delight its customers, and am looking forward to contributing to RichRelevance’s success.”

With more than twenty years of experience in sales management and strategic consulting, Pearson will play an integral role in marketing the flexibility and benefits of RichRelevance’s products for all eCommerce sites, ranging from small businesses to large-scale enterprise companies. Pearson is charged with delivering on RichRelevance’s commitment to total customer satisfaction while driving the growth and success of RichRelevance’s expanding customer and partner base.

“Todd is a perfect match for RichRelevance,” said David Selinger. “In this underperforming economy, there is an increasing demand for our personalized recommendation product to enhance customer experience, increase conversion, and boost sales. Todd’s depth of experience in eCommerce is a boon for us as we continue to exceed the expectations of our rapidly growing customer base.”

Pearson received his MBA as a Sloan Fellow at the London Business School and his BA degree from University of California, Berkeley.

RichRelevance powers next-generation merchandising and personalized  recommendations for eCommerce sites. The company’s product outperforms collaborative filtering solutions through use of more than fifteen recommendation types, combined with transparent messaging, continuous optimization, and merchandiser controls. The company is privately held and headquartered in San Francisco, California.