37% of consumers surveyed will start holiday shopping by September; 23% begin in August

Bazaarvoice, the leading platform for full-funnel authentic user-generated content (UGC) and social commerce solutions, has released its 2024 Global Holiday Season Consumer Behavior Report based on insights from more than 8,000 global consumers. The report suggests that the holiday shopping season begins as early as August.

Early Shopping Trends

• Early Starters: 23% of shoppers will start gift shopping by August or earlier.
• September Shoppers: 37% will begin by September.
• October Shoppers: More than half (55%) will start by October.
• Country Comparisons:
  • UK: 63% start shopping by July or earlier.
  • US: Only 13% start by July.
  • Germany: 63% start in November or later.

Consumer Preferences and Behaviors

• Timing for Holiday Displays:
  • Too Early: 62% believe October or earlier is too soon for holiday items.
  • Never Too Early: 26% say it’s never too early.
• Shopping Venues:
  • Malls: 28% start holiday shopping at malls.
  • Gen Z: 35% prefer malls.
  • French Shoppers: 41% prefer malls, the highest among surveyed countries.
  • US Shoppers: Only 20% prefer malls, the lowest among surveyed countries.
  • Online and In-store: 33% shop both in-store and online, with Amazon being a popular choice.

Social Media and Video Content

• Social Media Shopping:
  • Intentional and Spontaneous: 49% of festive social media shopping is both.
• Preferred Content Format:
  • Video: 37% say video captures their attention most effectively.
  • Video Length:
    • 1-5 minutes: Preferred by 29%.
    • 1 minute or less: Preferred by 28%.
• Content Preference:
  • Brand-Created: 46%.
  • User-Generated: 44%.
  • Influencer-Created: 10%.

Omnichannel Strategy

• Seamless Experience: 82% of shoppers emphasize the importance of a seamless experience across multiple channels.
• Omnichannel Integration: Leveraging both online and in-store experiences is crucial for an effective strategy.
• Insights and Strategy: Bazaarvoice’s 2024 Global Holiday Season Consumer Behavior Report provides valuable insights into holiday shopping trends and the importance of integrating UGC and social commerce.
• Report Availability: The report is available for download, offering detailed data to help brands and retailers fine-tune their holiday strategies.

Pioneers in Their Respective Fields Join Forces to Establish an Unprecedented Customer Data Operating System

BlueConic, a leading customer data platform (CDP), has announced its acquisition of Jebbit, a premier first-party data-capture and experience-creation software for marketers. This strategic merger results in the creation of the industry’s first-ever Operating System for Customer Data.

Strategic Acquisition

• Acquisition Announcement: BlueConic acquires Jebbit to expand its capabilities in customer data management.
• New Offering: The acquisition creates the industry’s first Operating System for Customer Data.
• CEO’s Statement: Cory Munchbach, CEO of BlueConic, expressed excitement about the merger and its potential to offer enhanced capabilities for marketers, providing deeper insights, actionable strategies, and growth acceleration.

Jebbit’s Role and Capabilities

• Data-Capture Tools: Jebbit provides interactive tools such as custom quizzes, surveys, and lookbooks.
• No-Code Interface: Jebbit’s no-code, AI-driven experience creator interface facilitates easy data collection for marketers.
• Data Integration: Jebbit’s first-party data, combined with BlueConic’s enterprise data, creates comprehensive customer profiles.
• Clean Room: Profiles can be anonymized in the BlueConic Clean Room for advanced segmentation and channel activation.

Jebbit’s Mission

• Tom Coburn’s Statement: Tom Coburn, CEO and Co-Founder of Jebbit, emphasized the mission to create engaging, assumption-free digital experiences that uncover customer interests and preferences.
• Enhanced Customer Understanding: The merger aims to redefine customer profiles with diverse data types.

Expanded Global Reach

• Customer Base: The combined entity will serve an expanded global customer base of over 500 clients.
• Commitment to Innovation: The acquisition highlights both companies' dedication to innovation and customer-centric solutions in the competitive marketing landscape.
• Significant Milestone: The acquisition of Jebbit by BlueConic marks a major development in the CDP industry, introducing a groundbreaking platform for customer data management.
• Future Outlook: The merger is set to offer marketers unprecedented tools for data-driven strategies and growth.

The newest addition to Zakeke's tech stack acts as a central hub for brands to easily create, store and manage 3D models in one place; empowering brands to cut costs, increase efficiency and operate more sustainably.

Zakeke, the world leader in the Visual Commerce landscape, has officially launched the 3D Digital Asset Manager (DAM). This new central hub is designed to simplify the creation, storage, management, and sharing of 3D models, helping brands embrace the 3D revolution in visual commerce.

3D Digital Asset Manager Overview

• New Launch: Zakeke introduces the 3D Digital Asset Manager, enhancing its suite of advanced tools for visual commerce.
• Central Hub: The DAM provides a single platform for managing all 3D digital asset needs.
• Capabilities:
  • Creation: Simplifies the creation of 3D models from 2D images.
  • Management: Centralizes 3D content management with bulk editing and collaboration features.
  • Storage: Offers unlimited storage for 3D assets.
  • Sharing: Facilitates seamless sharing through native integrations with other platforms.

Benefits for Brands

• Enhanced Efficiency: Helps brands cut costs and operate more efficiently by centralizing 3D asset management.
• Sustainable Practices: Reduces costs associated with samples and photoshoots, and minimizes overproduction of unnecessary samples.
• Immersive Experiences: Enables brands to deliver engaging 3D shopping experiences, improving customer engagement.

Client Base and Market Reach

• Global Presence: Zakeke serves over 10,000 global customers across more than 400 sectors in over 200 countries.
• Notable Clients: Includes major fashion labels like Valentino, Colmar, and Testoni, as well as tech brands like HP.

CEO’s Statement

• Angelo Coletta’s Vision: Angelo Coletta, CEO & Co-Founder of Zakeke, emphasized that the 3D Digital Asset Manager helps businesses overcome challenges in 3D content creation and management, enhancing customer engagement and streamlining operations.
• Revolutionizing Visual Commerce: Zakeke’s new 3D Digital Asset Manager marks a significant advancement in the visual commerce landscape, offering brands a comprehensive solution for 3D model management and supporting the transition to more efficient, sustainable practices.

97% of executives admit they are ill-prepared for Google phasing out third-party cookies; 86% believe their personalization capabilities are inadequate

At a pivotal moment for digital marketing, Optimizely, the leading digital experience platform (DXP) provider, has released a new survey revealing that 97% of executives feel unprepared for the foundational shift brought by Google’s plan to eliminate third-party cookies. This survey, which includes responses from 1,000 executives across six countries, highlights significant challenges and opportunities in adapting to the future of digital marketing.

The Cookie Phaseout and Its Impact

• Major Shift: Google’s plan to eliminate cookies represents a fundamental change in how companies gather consumer data and understand preferences.
• Executive Readiness: 97% of executives report feeling unprepared for this shift.
• Personalization Challenges: With over 75% of consumers more likely to buy from brands that offer personalized experiences, 86% of executives believe their current ability to run personalized marketing campaigns is inadequate.

Survey Findings

• Research Scope: The survey included 1,000 Marketing, E-Commerce, and IT executives from the US, UK, Germany, Sweden, Australia/New Zealand, and Singapore.
• Generational Shifts: The survey comes at a crucial time as Google phases out cookies, AI technology evolves, and regulatory pressures increase.

Personalization and Experimentation

• Budget Increases: 62% of respondents have increased their personalization budgets over the past year.
• Experimentation Benefits: Executives acknowledge the benefits of experimentation in personalization efforts, including:
  • Identifying Mistakes: 40% find it helps spot errors.
  • Data-Driven Decisions: 40% use it for making informed choices.
  • Testing Strategies: 39% value it for pre-implementation testing.
  • Personalizing Experiences: 39% see it as key to crafting customer experiences.
  • Effective Strategies: 39% use it to discover successful personalization methods.

Challenges in Personalization Strategies

• Real-Time Personalization: Executives face challenges including:
  • Focused Analytics: 43% struggle with analytics for real-time personalization.
  • Scaling Programs: 40% find it hard to scale personalization efforts.
  • Activating Experiences: 39% have trouble with real-time activation.
• Process-Oriented Obstacles: 36% cite disjointed workflows as a top challenge.
• Unified Definition: Only 26% have a unified definition of personalization within their organization.
• Measuring ROI: No single metric is used by half of the respondents, indicating uncertainty in tracking success.

Preparing for the Future

• Adapting to Change: Executives must move away from third-party data and focus on innovative ways to create personalized campaigns.
• Effective Campaigns: The transition will require new strategies to gather data directly from consumers and create effective marketing campaigns.
• Critical Insights: Optimizely’s survey underscores the need for brands to prepare for a cookie-free future by investing in personalization and experimentation tools.
• Access the Report: For detailed insights and strategies to navigate the upcoming changes in digital marketing, read the full report.

commercetools, the global leader in composable commerce, has announced the appointment of Andrew Burton as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective July 8, 2024. Burton succeeds Dirk Hoerig, co-founder and former CEO, who will transition to the role of Chief Innovation Officer (CIO). This leadership change marks a significant moment for commercetools as it continues to expand and innovate in the commerce technology sector.

Leadership Transition

• New CEO: Andrew Burton will become the new CEO of commercetools starting July 8, 2024.
• Dirk Hoerig’s New Role: Dirk Hoerig will remain on the Board and move to the role of Chief Innovation Officer (CIO), focusing on customer and partner relationships, product innovation, and thought leadership.

Andrew Burton’s Background

• Seasoned Executive: Andrew Burton brings over 25 years of experience in building innovative businesses and leading high-performing teams.
• Previous Roles:
  • President and COO at Rapid7: Led the company from ~$150M ARR to over $800M ARR.
  • CEO of Logentries: Led the company through its acquisition by Rapid7.
• Expertise: Extensive background in sales, marketing, product development, engineering, and operations.

Strategic Vision

• Burton’s Statement: "It's an honor to lead commercetools into its next chapter of growth. We will continue to innovate and create value for our customers and partners worldwide, transforming ideas into revenue."
• Focus Areas: Expanding commercetools’ market presence, driving growth, and advancing the company’s innovative commerce solutions.

Dirk Hoerig’s Contributions

• Hoerig’s Role: Dirk Hoerig will focus on growing customer and partner relationships, driving innovation, and enhancing commercetools’ thought leadership.
• Legacy: Under Hoerig’s leadership, commercetools became a leader in the composable commerce market.

Recent Company Milestones

• IDC MarketScape Leader: commercetools was named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape report.
• New Solutions: Launched a HIPAA-compliant and HDS-certified solution, and introduced commercetools Foundry for faster and cost-effective e-commerce operations.
• 2023 Results: Achieved +65% ARR growth in the Americas region and a +45% YoY increase in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) to over $30 billion.

Future Outlook

• Growth and Innovation: Burton’s appointment is part of commercetools’ broader strategy to invest in innovation and expand its leadership team.
• Recent Hires: The appointment of Burton follows recent hires for chief people and finance officer roles, positioning commercetools for continued growth.

The appointment of Andrew Burton as CEO represents a new era for commercetools, promising continued innovation and expansion in the composable commerce market. With Dirk Hoerig transitioning to CIO, commercetools is set to build on its legacy and explore new growth opportunities.

•   Includes enterprise technology, customers and employees

•   Revives iconic brand in loyalty marketing

•   Grows CORA’s Loyalty Solutions Businesses and Capabilities

CORA Group, a leading operating portfolio of Jonas Software, a subsidiary of Constellation Software Inc., is excited to announce the acquisition of Kognitiv’s Enterprise Loyalty Platform (ELP). This strategic acquisition positions CORA as a leader in the loyalty technology industry, expanding its portfolio with comprehensive global enterprise loyalty program management solutions. The newly acquired entity will operate under the revived brand name Carlson Marketing Solutions, restoring its original identity from its founding in 1938.

Acquisition Overview

• Acquisition: CORA Group acquires Kognitiv’s Enterprise Loyalty Platform (ELP).
• New Brand: The ELP will be rebranded as Carlson Marketing Solutions.
• Historical Context: Carlson Marketing Solutions was originally founded in 1938 and was previously acquired by AIMIA, Inc., and later Kognitiv.

Capabilities of Enterprise Loyalty Platform (ELP)

• Global Reach: Serves over 50 million loyalty program members across 30 countries.
• High-Volume Transactions: Manages thousands of transactions per minute globally.
• Client Base: Includes multinational banks, retailers, and travel providers.
• Features: Advanced data sciences, customer marketing services, and the Air Miles Reward Program, the largest coalition loyalty program in the Middle East.

Strategic Impact

• Expanded Portfolio: ELP’s acquisition enhances CORA’s position in the loyalty technology market.
• Global Expansion: Adds enterprise loyalty program management solutions on a global scale.
• Employee Integration: Over 100 new employees from Kognitiv will join CORA across North America, APAC, and EMEA.
• Leadership: Denis Brosnan, Portfolio Manager at CORA, will serve as CEO during the transition.

Statements from Leadership

• Denis Brosnan: “We are thrilled to welcome Carlson Marketing Solutions into the CORA family. This acquisition aligns with our goal of offering comprehensive loyalty management solutions and provides career development opportunities for our new employees.”
• Tim Sullivan (CEO of Kognitiv): “We are excited to see ELP and Air Miles join CORA, strengthening our partnership and allowing Kognitiv to focus on data activation technologies while ensuring continuity for our customers.”

Future Prospects

• Growth and Innovation: The acquisition is expected to drive growth and innovation in loyalty program management and data activation.
• Partnerships: The move continues a successful partnership between Kognitiv and CORA’s RewardOps.

The acquisition of Kognitiv’s Enterprise Loyalty Platform and the rebranding to Carlson Marketing Solutions represents a significant step forward for CORA Group in the loyalty technology industry. With a strong global presence and advanced capabilities, CORA is well-positioned to lead in enterprise loyalty program management and drive future growth and innovation.

The collaboration aims to enhance consumer understanding and business impact prediction across the entire innovation process.

Zappi, the leading consumer insights platform, has announced a groundbreaking strategic partnership with Woxi, the agile predictive analytics platform for today’s innovation decision-makers. This collaboration represents a significant advancement in bridging the gap between consumer insights and sales predictions, offering brands a dynamic, integrated solution for achieving true consumer-centricity and enhancing their product development processes.

Strategic Partnership Overview

• Partnership Announcement: Zappi and Woxi form a strategic alliance.
• Objective: To integrate Woxi’s advanced sales forecasting capabilities with Zappi’s agile innovation system.
• Impact: This partnership aims to disrupt traditional product development methods by offering real-time consumer insights and predictive analytics.

Benefits of the Partnership

• Enhanced Consumer Insights: By combining Zappi’s agile innovation platform with Woxi’s predictive analytics, brands gain access to real-time consumer sentiment analysis and sales predictions.
• Accelerated Product Development: Zappi’s innovation system reduces the product development cycle from ideation to market by 60%.
• Continuous Updates: Provides always-on insights and sales forecasts, unlike traditional methods which offer point-in-time validation.

Proven Success

• Global Pilot Success: The partnership has already demonstrated its effectiveness through a successful global pilot with PepsiCo, a Zappi customer and leader in consumer product innovation.
• Broader Application: Zappi plans to extend this innovative solution to a wider customer base, including industry giants like McDonald's, Colgate-Palmolive, and Mars.

Statements from Leadership

• Steve Phillips (Co-Founder and CEO of Zappi): “Partnering with Woxi enhances our ability to provide always-on insights and sales forecasts. We are excited to offer brands a way to optimize new product development with richer consumer insights and continuously updated predictions.”
• Christopher Adrien (CEO at Woxi): “We are thrilled about our collaboration with Zappi. Their agile consumer insights platform aligns perfectly with Woxi’s focus on continuous predictive analytics, offering a transformative solution for enhanced product innovation.”

About Zappi

Zappi is a leading consumer insights platform dedicated to helping brands make better advertising and product decisions through faster, more affordable insights. Recognized as the Best Marketing Insights Platform by the 2023 MarTech Breakthrough Awards and one of the hottest martech companies by Business Insider, Zappi is a certified B-Corp committed to net-zero goals, diversity, equity, and community benefit.

• Recognition: Best Marketing Insights Platform (2023 MarTech Breakthrough Awards)
• Notable Clients: McDonald's, Colgate-Palmolive, Mars
• Employee Base: Over 300 employees in 13+ countries
• Work Culture: Hybrid work environment with equitable career growth opportunities

About Woxi

Woxi is an agile predictive analytics platform focused on providing continuous, real-time insights for innovation decision-makers. Woxi’s advanced sales forecasting capabilities help businesses anticipate market outcomes and refine their product strategies.

The partnership between Zappi and Woxi marks a significant advancement in the consumer insights and predictive analytics space. By combining their strengths, Zappi and Woxi offer a robust solution for brands to optimize product development and enhance their market strategies with real-time insights and continuous sales forecasts.

Kipu Quantum acquires quantum computing platform built by Anaqor AG to accelerate development of industrially relevant quantum solutions

Kipu Quantum, the world’s leading quantum software company, has announced a pivotal acquisition of PlanQK, a prominent German quantum computing platform developed by Anaqor AG. This strategic acquisition marks a significant step in Kipu Quantum’s mission to advance the field of quantum computing by integrating PlanQK’s platform and expert team. This move follows Kipu Quantum’s successful second closing of a €11.4 million seed funding round in late 2023, led by HV Capital and DTCF.

Strategic Acquisition Overview

• Acquisition Announcement: Kipu Quantum acquires PlanQK, a leading quantum computing platform.
• Objective: To enhance Kipu Quantum’s quantum computing capabilities and accelerate commercialization efforts.
• Funding Success: The acquisition follows a successful €11.4 million seed funding round led by HV Capital and DTCF.

Impact of the Acquisition

• Expansion of Quantum Ecosystem: PlanQK’s platform, with a network of over 100 organizations, will be integrated into Kipu Quantum’s operations.
• Enhanced Accessibility: The acquisition will enable frictionless access to Kipu Quantum’s hardware- and application-specific algorithms for a broad range of industries including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, logistics, and finance.
• Accelerated Growth: By leveraging PlanQK’s established infrastructure, Kipu Quantum aims to make quantum computing solutions more accessible and effective across various sectors.

Statements from Leadership

• Daniel Volz (CEO of Kipu Quantum): “Kipu Quantum’s massively compressed algorithms can tackle industrial-scale problems with today’s quantum processors. This acquisition will expand our reach and make our world-leading quantum computing services available to a wider audience.”
• Michael Falkenthal (Principal Architect of PlanQK): “Combining our expertise with Kipu Quantum’s capabilities will accelerate quantum computing advancements and facilitate the integration of these solutions into existing processes.”
• Enrique Solano (Co-Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Kipu Quantum): “We are excited to welcome the PlanQK team and pursue our shared mission of demonstrating quantum advantage by 2026. This acquisition positions us to make history in the quantum computing field.”
• Alexandra Beckstein (CEO and Co-Founder of QAI Ventures): “Kipu Quantum’s acquisition of PlanQK is a bold move that reinforces their commitment to advancing quantum computing. We look forward to supporting their efforts in achieving impactful quantum solutions.”

PlanQK’s Proven Success

• Platform Overview: PlanQK’s platform is well-regarded for managing complex quantum computing tasks and serving high-profile clients such as BASF, DB Systel GmbH, T-LABS, and TRUMPF.
• Air Miles Reward Program: The acquisition includes the Air Miles Reward Program, the largest coalition loyalty program in the Middle East.

About Kipu Quantum

Kipu Quantum is a leader in the quantum software industry, focused on creating advanced quantum computing solutions for a range of applications. With a mission to make quantum computing useful for real-world problems, Kipu Quantum is committed to innovation and achieving quantum advantage by 2026.

• Recent Achievements: Successful €11.4 million seed funding round in late 2023
• Clients: BASF, DLR, MasOrange
• Mission: To deliver effective quantum computing solutions and achieve a quantum advantage

About PlanQK

PlanQK is a German quantum computing platform developed by Anaqor AG. The platform is known for its robust capabilities in managing complex quantum computing tasks and serving a diverse range of industries.

• Ecosystem: Over 100 organizations including BASF, DB Systel GmbH, T-LABS, and TRUMPF
• Program: Includes the Air Miles Reward Program in the Middle East
• Focus: Community-driven platform supporting quantum innovation

The acquisition of PlanQK by Kipu Quantum represents a major advancement in the field of quantum computing. By integrating PlanQK’s platform and team, Kipu Quantum aims to enhance accessibility to quantum computing solutions across various industries and accelerate the path to achieving quantum advantage.