Published on the 17/08/2017 | Written by Jonathan Cotton
Can the software help AU business survive ‘the Amazon effect’?…
San Francisco-based Optimizely has landed on local shores promising to throw Aussie retailers a lifeline as Amazon prepares to set up shop.
Optimizely offers enterprises an ‘experimentation and personalisation’ platform, providing A/B testing functionality for their digital channels. Users can change test elements such as button positioning, calls-to-action and pricing options, and receive real-time feedback.
Such functionality is increasingly important in Australia’s retail space – and soon to be even more so – as Amazon, the world’s biggest retailer, prepares to cut itself a slice of the Australian retail pie.
“We are experiencing what we call, ‘the Amazon effect’, which is resulting in a sharp lift in the number of experiments being conducted by local retailers to strengthen their position ahead of Amazon’s arrival – a company whose culture is built on endless experimentation” said Australian ex-pat and managing director Dan Ross, who will lead the APAC office.
“With Optimizely’s technology and platform customers can experiment at scale on all parts of their business including marketing, product, engineering and customer service leading to faster and better decisions.”
Ross also said that the company is seeing increased uptake by businesses in industries with more traditional business models such as utilities, superannuation, health insurance and telecommunications.
“These industries are under threat by increased competition from new and more agile players, which is why they’re turning to Optimizely in order to innovate at speed.”
The Australian base will be located in Sydney and will be the first Asia Pacific outpost for the group. The move follows some decent fundraising by the group – the San Francisco-based startup has so far raised around US$146m from investors such as Index Ventures, Benchmark Capital and Andreessen Horowitz.
Optimizely have been active in the APAC market for several years and says the new location will have positive effects for support to local customers and bolster the group’s global 24/7 support: “This new home brings us much closer to our growing customer base where we already have strong relationships with businesses in the retail, media and travel sectors.”
With approximately dozen or so staff already on the ground here, the group says it is looking to at least double that with “a full go-to-market- team” with roles in Sydney and Melbourne.
As for Amazon, they intend to land on Australian shores some time in 2017, with an eye on securing a share of the $22.2 billion Australian retail space, a move expected to have a profound effect on both online and bricks and mortar stores.
“The next step is to bring a retail offering to Australia,” the company said in a statement earlier this year, “and we are making those plans now.”
