Bazaarvoice

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bazaarvoice
Company typePrivate company
IndustrySoftware
Founded2005
FounderBrett Hurt and Brant Barton
Headquarters
Key people
Keith Nealon (CEO)
Websitewww.bazaarvoice.com

Bazaarvoice is a technology company based in Austin, Texas, that provides software that allows brands and retailers to collect and display several types of user-generated content (UGC) on their e-commerce websites.[1] Bazaarvoice's services include product ratings and reviews, questions and answers, sampling, visual and social content, insights, social commerce and social publishing.

History[edit]

Bazaarvoice was cofounded in 2005 by Brett Hurt and Brant Barton in Austin, Texas.[2] Currently, the company also has offices in New York City, Chicago, London, Munich, Belfast, Paris, Vilnius, Sydney, and Bengaluru.[3] The company has over 900 employees globally.[4]

Initially, Bazaarvoice focused on software that lets businesses add product reviews to their websites.[5][6] Bazaarvoice later expanded to include software that allows businesses to analyze reviews, ratings, videos, social media, and other user-generated content posted by customers,[7] which is used by companies including Wal-Mart, AT&T and Microsoft.[8][9]

The company went public on the NASDAQ in 2012, raising $114 million in its initial public offering.[10] Following that, in a 2013 Gartner report, Bazaarvoice was named one of the ten fastest growing CRM vendors.[11] A year later in 2014, Bazaarvoice and TripleLift partnered to allow native ads to run on client websites.[12]

In 2018, the company was taken private after being purchased by Marlin Equity Partners.[13] In 2021, Bazaarvoice announced a majority investment from Thomas H. Lee Partners.[14]

Over the years, the company has made a variety of acquisitions, including AddStructure,[15] a natural language processing platform, in 2018; Influenster,[16] a product discovery and review platform, in 2019; and Curalate,[17] a social commerce platform, in 2020.

Keith Nealon was named CEO in January 2020, replacing interim CEO Joe Davis.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Cobler, Nicole. "Austin's Bazaarvoice acquires New York product review firm". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
  2. ^ a b "New CEO sees 'huge opportunity' ahead for Austin's Bazaarvoice". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  3. ^ "US technology leader Bazaarvoice chooses Lithuania for next office". Invest Lithuania. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  4. ^ McDonnell, Francess. "Retail brand review firm sets up European base in Belfast". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  5. ^ "New CEO sees 'huge opportunity' ahead for Austin's Bazaarvoice". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
  6. ^ "Dell CMO Erin Nelson to Join Bazaarvoice". ClickZ. 2010-09-20. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
  7. ^ "Bazaarvoice founder Brett Hurt on overcoming fears and initiating conversation". CultureMap Austin. 2012-09-20. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
  8. ^ Bumgarner, John (20 September 2012). "Bazaarvoice founder Brett Hurt on overcoming fears and initiating conversation". CultureMap Austin. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  9. ^ "Microsoft Tries Getting Social With Display Ads". ClickZ. 2012-02-14. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  10. ^ Cowan, Lynn (24 February 2012). "IBazaarvoice IPO opens up 33% after pricing". MarketWatch. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  11. ^ Marketing, Louis Columbus; Leader, Product Management; Columnist, Forbes; Analytics, Software Expertise in; Cloud; CPQ; IQMS, ERP Solutions Principal at; iBASEt, formerly with; Cincoom (2013-04-28). "2013 CRM Market Share Update: 40% Of CRM Systems Sold Are SaaS-Based". Enterprise Irregulars. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  12. ^ Parish, Wendy. "E-commerce embraces native advertising". Marketing Dive. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  13. ^ Anderson, Will (21 January 2018). "Austin tech luminary to quit Bazaarvoice after $521M buyout". Austin Business Journal. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  14. ^ Vinn, Milana (2021-03-30). "Thomas H. Lee values Bazaarvoice at more than $1.5bn". PE Hub. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
  15. ^ "Bazaarvoice acquires AddStructure to improve UGC". Retail Dive. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  16. ^ Cobler, Nicole. "Austin's Bazaarvoice acquires New York product review firm". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  17. ^ "Curalate Acquired by Bazaarvoice, Will Accelerate Social Content Across the Bazaarvoice Network". Bloomberg.com. 2020-07-08. Retrieved 2021-01-20.