Consumer budgets are expected to improve this holiday shopping season, signaling potential growth for retailers. However, standing out in a crowded market remains a challenge as consumers are bombarded with messages from all directions. Innovative start-up Birdseye believes it has found the solution to effectively connect brands and retailers with their customers using artificial intelligence (AI).
Key Takeaway
Birdseye, an AI-powered retail and e-commerce analytics platform, is revolutionizing the way brands and retailers connect with customers. By leveraging AI technology, Birdseye enables retailers to execute hyper-personalized email and SMS campaigns, optimize inventory, and proactively respond to potential customer churn. With recent funding from Drive Capital, Birdseye is poised for further growth and aims to expand its client base and team.
Meet Birdseye: Empowering Retailers with AI
Birdseye, a Toronto-based company founded by Matt Bogoroch and his brother Adam Bogoroch, along with Shardul Frey, focuses on e-commerce AI solutions. The company was established in 2021 to provide e-commerce analytics to Shopify brands, enabling them to enhance their marketing and advertising efforts and compete against larger companies.
The founders realized that smaller online retailers often lack dedicated analytics teams, depriving them of valuable data needed to boost their marketing strategies and ultimately leaving potential sales on the table. Two years later, Birdseye has evolved into a comprehensive platform for large brands and retailers, offering the expertise of an AI-powered Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). This includes hyper-personalized email and SMS campaigns, as well as insights derived from retail transaction data, all accessible through a single dashboard.
Unlocking Personalization with AI
Birdseye’s AI technology analyzes millions of marketing actions, allowing retailers to match their customers with the products they are most likely to be interested in at any given time and price. This includes optimizing excess inventory, eliminating the need for discounts or mass email campaigns. Additionally, Birdseye can proactively alert retailers about potential customer churn, enabling them to respond with personalized offers to retain their customers.
CEO Matt Bogoroch explains, “Each message and discount is unique, crafted by an advanced large language model, ensuring relevance and appeal to each recipient. Imagine Nike having 800 units of size 16 yellow shoes that are struggling to sell due to their unique size/color combination. Birdseye’s AI can identify customers who prefer yellow and wear size 16, then reach out with personalized pricing for the shoes — all without human intervention.”
Expanding Client Base and Funding
Birdseye currently works with around 120 brands, including notable names like Midori, bag & bougie, and Eva Franco. This represents a 100% increase since the beginning of the year. Although CEO Matt Bogoroch did not disclose specific revenue growth details, the company shows promising momentum.
In terms of fundraising, Birdseye secured $500,000 in a pre-seed round from Drive Capital in March. The venture capital firm recently injected an additional $3 million in seed funding into the company. As part of the investment, Drive Capital partner Masha Khusid will join Birdseye’s board of directors.
This infusion of capital provides Birdseye with a runway of two years and will support the company in expanding its customer base to include more mid-market and enterprise companies. The team will also grow, increasing from eight to 14 engineers, particularly focusing on the machine learning aspect of their operations.
As the retail industry evolves rapidly, embracing digital commerce is crucial for retailers aiming to stay ahead. Birdseye’s AI-powered solutions provide a competitive edge, enabling brands and retailers to connect with customers in a more personalized and efficient manner. With its innovative approach and recent investments, Birdseye is well-positioned to reshape the future of retail marketing.
