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Peer recommendations help The Nile’s customer flow

~ Amazon.com competitor chooses collective intelligence to enhance customer journey and boost number of books in baskets ~

March 26, 2008

Amazon.com’s biggest rival in Australasia, The Nile, will use customer-generated recommendations to help shoppers select their next big read.

The online bookstore, owned by Mercury Retail, has implemented collective intelligence technology from European-based e-commerce experts Avail Intelligence. The software uses sophisticated algorithms from customer behaviour on the site to provide real-time recommendations. The information provides the most relevant products for other customers as they browse the site, to help them make additional purchases that match their preferences.

Avail’s technology is driven purely by customer information, helping shoppers to trust the recommendations they receive from the site throughout their online experience.

Initial indicators confirm that The Nile customers are buying more books per order, when they take up recommendation offers. Overall figures are expected to show an increase of ten per cent per order and up to a 20 per cent increase in conversion rates.

The Nile is Avail’s first southern hemisphere customer and follows recent UK High Street client wins including Woolworths. As The Nile competes with more established rivals, the software from Avail Intelligence is giving it an increased armoury to tackle competition. The company already has plans to expand out its range into non-book categories later this year.

Executive quote

”Word of mouth is a killer tool in the publishing world – recommendations from friends and family can turn a mediocre seller into a global runaway success,” said Dr Rolf Elmér, CEO, Avail Intelligence. “Online booksellers need to ensure online community recommendations are central to their sales strategy – otherwise they could be missing out on a huge amount of revenue. The Nile can use their customers’ intelligence to their advantage while making the online experience even more beneficial for new and returning readers.”

Customer quote

”Driving customer trust in our site is of critical importance to us as this is a key driver for returning customers,” said Jethro Marks of Mercury Retail. “The collective intelligence the Avail software drives, gives us the edge on out rivals. Using the site’s community enables us to maximise the intelligence we glean from our customers’ purchases and help encourage people to try out books they previously might not have considered.”

About the company

Avail Intelligence is the leader in maximising the value of visitor traffic to e-commerce web sites. The company’s technology harnesses the community intelligence from site visitors to deliver the most effective shopping experience for new and returning customers.

Using advanced mathematical techniques from its research arm Avail Labs, Avail Intelligence has created the Avail eMarketing suite. The suite comprises a set of tools, which improve relevance when merchandising to and communicating with individual visitors across the entire Customer Interaction Cycle™ of a single web site or across multiple web sites.

The results are significant, immediate and measurable improvements to conversion rates and average order values.

Avail Intelligence’s technology is being used by over 80% of the leading Scandinavian e-commerce sites. Key UK customers include Woolworths, Berry Brothers and DVD.co.uk.

Contact details

Account Manager at LEWIS, the PR agency

Tel: +44 (0) 161 601 7740

Fax: +44 (0) 161 601 7741

Email: avail@lewispr.com
Website: www.lewispr.com

Technorati tags: Avail Intelligence | Nile | user-generated |

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