NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Octane AI, the all-in-one buyer profile, Facebook Messenger, and SMS marketing platform for Shopify, today announced the launch of their Shoppable Quiz private beta. The Shoppable Quiz brings the retail consultation experience online with a personalized shopping experience, featuring a fully customizable and easy-to-use quiz builder integrated with Shopify, Klaviyo, ReCharge and other best-in-class ecommerce technologies. With advanced quiz logic, Shopify stores can ask customers key questions to build buyer profiles and use personalized messaging across Facebook Messenger and SMS to recommend products -- all in one platform. Octane AI is also announcing a $4.25 million venture capital funding round led by Bullpen Capital with additional participation from General Catalyst Partners, Boost VC, FJ Labs, Mana Ventures, Nelstone Ventures, True Search and many others bringing the total funding raised so far to $9 million.
“We are creating a better way to shop online. The Octane AI Shoppable Quiz enables brands to get to know the needs, preferences, and concerns of each customer, and then uses this information to build a relationship where the right products and information can be shown at the right times. If I walk into a physical store, someone can greet me, help me find exactly what I need, and give me the confidence to purchase - The Shoppable Quiz uses conversational automation to make this experience digital and scalable for the top ecommerce brands in the world,” said Matt Schlicht, CEO of Octane AI.
Octane AI is bringing a core part of the retail experience online for the first time ever. Browsing an online catalog can feel like searching through a massive warehouse. Without a store clerk where customers can ask questions, it’s difficult for new visitors to find what they need. The Shoppable Quiz simplifies the discovery experience for customers with an in-depth online consultation, altering the ecommerce space from a searching experience to a helpful, personalized, and conversational experience.
The Shoppable Quiz lets brands design their own quizzes with a drag-and-drop interface. Customers can simply add products to their cart directly from the results page. By integrating with Octane AI’s existing Messenger or SMS tools, businesses can send personalized follow-ups based on quiz answers.
The Shoppable Quiz bridges the gap between brick-and-mortar and ecommerce with advanced technology that allows for deep personalization, which has previously only been available to multi-billion dollar companies. Octane AI is sharing this same technology with entrepreneurs and merchants that haven’t had access to it before, giving ecommerce stores the tools to learn who their customers are and personalize every message and recommendation based on their buyer profile. By identifying these buyer profiles, merchants can intelligently recommend products that give customers the confidence they need to make the right purchase.
“We’ve been dreaming about a Shoppable Quiz since starting our ecommerce site to answer our customers’ number one question: ‘what flavor should I try and what do I do with it?’,” said Alex Tenney, Marketing Director at Skinny Mixes, a DTC brand that sells syrups for beverages. “Octane AI was able to create a Shoppable Quiz to seamlessly answer these questions while also gathering useful customer information. We’re so excited to get to know our customers on a personal level, help them find products easier and engage with them in a more impactful way. The Shoppable Quiz is something every ecommerce brand needs to build detailed buyer profiles, and we look forward to using this info to further personalize our emails, SMS, Messenger, and ads.”
Interactive content like quizzes have proven to be critical to the ecommerce customer journey, with 77% of marketers saying they provide value with a high amount of engagements that result in repeat visitors. The Shoppable Quiz offers this opportunity for increased engagement to businesses in all industries, including food and beverage, fashion and apparel, home goods, health and wellness, travel, and entertainment. Businesses can use the Shoppable Quiz to recommend products, personalize a sales pitch, onboard new customers, reveal products, help customers find their size, gather post-purchase feedback, find and recommend gifts, build buyer profile data, educate and entertain customers, offer a VIP experience and answer FAQs.
Octane AI has partnered with a wide range of world-class ecommerce agencies and technology platforms. These include Hawke Media, Mutesix, Lucid, Q3 Digital, Taproom Agency, Chronos Agency, Common Thread Collective, Ethercycle, EcommerceTech.io, Ecommerce Fastlane, Roswell Studios, Kinga Dow, Retention Commerce, Trellis, One Rockwell, Prestige Pro Media, Blue Switch, Verbal and Visual, AdQuadrant, Klaviyo, ReCharge, Gorgias, Re:amaze, Shogun, Shoelace and Refersion.
“Octane AI’s new Shoppable Quiz is changing the ecommerce game,” said Zach Niemiec, Director of Administrative Services at Bariatric Fusion, a globally-recognized nutraceutical company. “Let's face it: ecommerce is only growing and it's important to give customers what they are looking for. Octane AI is invested in helping us grow, and this latest product only reinforces that. This quiz is easy to build and customize, and customers love engaging with it. We’re starting to learn so much more about our customers—our messaging on email, SMS and Facebook Messenger is going to be way more targeted and personalized.”
The launch of the Shoppable Quiz comes at the beginning of Octane AI’s next major stage of growth, aligning with the recent $4.25 million capital raise. With the ecommerce industry accelerating its revenue growth by 68% this year due to COVID-19, Octane AI is dedicated to supporting the advanced automation, marketing, data, and personalization needs of the world’s fastest-growing brands on Shopify and Shopify Plus.
“We’re excited to lead Octane AI through this exciting period of growth,” said Bullpen Capital General Partner Paul Martino. “We’re at a unique crossroad with so much retail currently taking place online. Octane AI’s raise is a direct result of our belief that online retail is ready for a massive overhaul and we believe their innovative approach can help retailers deliver a new shopping experience to their customers.”
In addition to Bullpen Capital, participants in Octane AI’s new fundraising round includes General Catalyst, Boost VC, FJ Labs, Mana Ventures, Nelstone Ventures, True Search, Adam Schwartz (CEO and Founder of Articulate), Jeremiah Owyang (Tech and Corporate Innovation Analyst and Founder of Kaleido Insights and Catalyst Companies) and Larry Braitman (Angel Investor, Founder of Flycast Communications and Adify). They have collectively invested in disruptive companies including Marketo, Stripe, Coinbase, Alibaba, Airbnb and more.
The Octane AI Shoppable Quiz is now available for demos to ecommerce brands. To learn more, visit: join.octaneai.com/platform/quiz.
About Octane AI
Octane AI is the all-in-one buyer profile, Facebook Messenger, and SMS marketing platform for Shopify. Merchants use Octane AI to connect, convert, and retain customers by personalizing the customer journey and giving customers the confidence to purchase. Octane AI was founded in 2016 by three Forbes 30 Under 30 founders and is backed by top Silicon Valley investors, including the investors behind Warby Parker, Snapchat, BigCommerce, Alibaba, and Outdoor Voices. Octane AI is all-remote and employs team members in 10+ countries.
