Marketplace platform provider Mirakl Inc. has taken several steps recently to enhance its ecommerce technology to help companies grow their ecommerce portals.
The latest step came Thursday when the company announced its acquisition of Target2Sell. Target2Sell is an open, real-time artificial intelligence platform designed to support personalized customer experiences across digital channels. Mirakl did not disclose what it agreed to pay for Target2Sell.
The acquisition will help companies that sell products via Mirakl marketplaces to develop personalized, relevant shopping experiences for their customers. It will also increase conversion rates by as much 15%, Mirakl says. Mirakl also will use Target2Sell’s technology to accelerate new product offerings.
“Target2Sell has developed an innovative, AI-driven suite of products, complemented with deep expertise, that enable ecommerce operators to propose the right products to the right customers at the right time, leading to increased conversions and improved customer satisfaction,” says Mirakl co-CEO and co-founder Adrien Nussenbaum. “With the acquisition of Target2Sell, Mirakl customers will be able to use the power of AI-driven personalization to achieve assortment curation and enhanced product discovery.”
Along with the acquisition of Target2Sell, Mirakl launched Payout, a global payment platform designed to streamline marketplace payment activities to meet the needs of international marketplace operators and sellers.
Mirakl says Payout is designed to simplify the global payout process for marketplace operators by letting them add international sellers without dealing with regulatory compliance bottlenecks and regional licensing. Payout also addresses the challenges of foreign exchange and other variables across international markets, Mirakl says.
The Payout system, which will be integrated into Mirakl’s platform, handles seller-onboarding and customer requirements. It also handles regulated escrow, currency exchange and refund reserve management. And it maintains regulatory compliance regardless of where the marketplace or seller operates, Mirakl says. Payout will be available to Mirakl customers this fall through an early-access program.
“Our economy, and specifically digital commerce, is becoming more global every day. It is also becoming more complex and competitive to sell online,” says Nussenbaum. “Some of the largest hurdles organizations have to overcome when it comes to integrating international sellers are related to financial complexity, regulatory compliance, licensing and foreign exchange.”
Mirakl also has added several new features to its platform intended to drive marketplace growth. Such features include Product Data Mapping AI and Customer Care Intelligence; both products will be available to existing Mirakl customers in May.
Product Data Mapping AI helps sellers cut product catalog data-mapping time by 50% while improving the accuracy of product catalog data for online marketplaces, Mirakl says. In addition, the data-mapping feature is designed to ease product discovery by categorizing products on marketplace front pages and reducing the time and complexity of onboarding third-party sellers’ catalogs. Artificial intelligence detects syntax similarities and defines characteristics from product descriptions. As a result, Mirakl’s platform can automatically map categories and subcategories for sellers while improving speed and accuracy during the seller onboarding process, the company says.
Customer Care Intelligence enables marketplaces to deliver high-quality marketplace shopping experiences at scale. Artificial intelligence algorithms automatically distinguish between positive, negative and neutral sentiments within customer messages. Messages requiring immediate intervention are automatically flagged. This allows online marketplaces to manage a larger seller base and order volume with fewer resources.
“The secret to marketplace success is unlocking the curation of a high-quality assortment and management of sellers and customer care at scale,” Nussenbaum says.
Another new feature on Mirakl’s platform is the extension of marketplace benefits to large corporate buyers through One Creditor, which simplifies vendor management and overall buying experiences to accommodate specialized supplier or client relationships. As a result, businesses can act as the central creditor for all transactions. The solution will be available to Mirakl’s B2B customers in the European Union this fall. General availability will follow at a later date.
The addition of FastTrack Onboarding will enable online marketplaces to quickly add hundreds of relevant third-party sellers to their marketplace. In addition, the solution automates store creation and creates offers for existing products. The solution will become available to B2C customers this fall.
Enhancements to its platform aside, Mirakl earlier this month partnered with Sonepar, a French-based, family-owned distributor of electrical products. The marketplace is launching as part of Sonepar’s omnichannel strategy.
In addition, Sonepar will leverage Mirakl’s one-creditor platform model to provide an expanded assortment of products and a frictionless customer experience through a single vendor.
“The one-creditor platform model enables Sonepar to maintain 1:1 purchasing relationships with their buyers — while unlocking the agility and scale of a marketplace,” Nussenbaum says.
The Sonepar marketplace is scheduled to launch during the fourth quarter of 2022.
Peter Lucas is a Highland Park, Illinois-based freelance journalist covering business and technology.
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