Bazaarvoice Scoops Up Influenster
Bazaarvoice, the Austin, Texas-based provider of product reviews and user-generated content solutions, has acquired New York-based Influenster, a product discovery and reviews platform with nearly six million community members worldwide.
The acquisition brings together Influenster’s engaged community of everyday consumers with Bazaarvoice’s software and network of more than 6,000 global brand and retailer websites.
Through the combined solutions of Bazaarvoice and Influenster, brands will have a single partner to help them:
- build relationships with new and existing customers
- create a comprehensive product reviews and UGC strategy
- power word-of-mouth marketing at scale
The co-founders of Influenster, Aydin Acar and Elizabeth Scherle, will retain responsibility for key functions at Influenster. Integrated offerings will be available in North America immediately and in Europe this fall before expanding to other regions in 2020.
Brands including Coty and Procter & Gamble work with Influenster to run product sampling campaigns, generate and license organic review and social content, and build brand awareness.
Through its platform, Influenster has created a product-obsessed community whose members have written more than 38 million product reviews and who continue to create more than 50,000 pieces of content every day – including photos, videos, and Q&A.
“The decision to join forces with Influenster underscores Bazaarvoice’s commitment to connecting brands with consumers and consumers with one another through user-generated content,” Bazaarvoice CEO Joe Davis said. “Influenster’s product sampling and review generation offerings further strengthen our core product ratings and reviews solutions, and their hyper-targeting and gamification capabilities will allow us to better support our customers’ broader marketing initiatives. We’re excited to partner with a company that shares our belief in the power of the everyday consumer.”
Best-in-class companies who make user-generated content available to shoppers drove an average 137% conversion increase and a 157% lift in revenue-per-visitor, according to Bazaarvoice’s recent Shopper Experience Index.
“Since launching Influenster nine years ago, we’ve innovated to meet the changing needs of shoppers as the retail, e-commerce and social media landscapes evolve,” said Elizabeth Scherle, Influenster president and co-founder. “Through this acquisition, we’re excited to continue our growth by developing new capabilities and connecting our highly-motivated community with thousands of brands and more than a billion shoppers in the Bazaarvoice Network.”