A billion-dollar tech firm is to take on eCommerce giants Amazon and Alibaba following an acquisition.
Trax is a leading provider of computer vision solutions and analytics which are capable of ‘reading’ products upon shop shelves.
It has moved to acquire shopping rewards app Shopkick.
Amazon and Alibaba are merging the physical and digital worlds of retail with services like Amazon Go.
Meanwhile Shopkick has created a shopping app for smartphones and tablets that offers users rewards for shopping activities both online and in-stores such as walking into stores, scanning items, making in-app or in-store purchases and submitting receipts.
The company has driven 200 million store visits, over 270m product scans in aisle and over $2.5 billion in total sales.
The acquisition will enable Singapore-headquartered Trax to accelerate the digitisation of the physical world of retail and help retailers gain new insights into product performance.
It says the combination of Trax’s technology and Shopkick’s omnichannel approach will offer customers the most powerful set of data analytics tools on the market.
“Bringing together shelf and shopper data will deliver new and powerful insights to CPG brands and retailers,” said Joel Bar-El, CEO and co-founder of Trax.
“Shopkick’s unique direct access to customers, first-party database on consumer in-store actions, omnichannel insights and access to a broader ecosystem of retailers and brands made this a strategic fit for Trax.”
Consumers use the Shopkick app to earn rewards for shopping activities, including browsing content and online offers, watching videos, walking into stores, engaging with products online and at shelf, and making purchases, both online and offline.
California-based Shopkick works with some of the world’s largest brands and retailers including Coty, eBay, GE, Georgia-Pacific, Kellogg’s, LEGO, TJ Maxx and Unilever.
“Joining forces with Trax will accelerate and further expand our innovative consumer experiences,” said Adam Sand, CEO of Shopkick.
“The combination of Trax’s unparalleled computer vision technology and Shopkick’s engaging omnichannel approach will offer our current and future customers the most powerful set of tools on the market.”