Personalization firm RichRelevance raises $20 million

RichRelevance, which provides personalization services to 28 retailers in the 2012 Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, said this week that it raised $20 million in a funding round.

RichRelevance will use some of the capital to fund expansion into new markets outside of North America, says chief marketing officer Diane Kegley. The company also plans to develop more personalization and digital marketing tools, beef up its consumer data analysis efforts and also add staff

RichRelevance first expanded internationally in 2010 in the United Kingdom by signing office supply merchant Viking Direct, a segment of Office Depot and No. 60 in the 2012 Internet Retailer Top 400 Europe. Now the company is moving into the European Union and Africa, Kegley says.  

“It’s great to see [the capital],” says Cam Fortin, director of business development at Wine.com Inc., a RichRelevance client for more than two years and No. 248 in the Top 500. The web-only retailer uses RichRelevance personalization to suggest personalized products to shoppers—for example, not just showing a customer who bought a cabernet another cab at a similar price, but a variety of wine types she might like instead, Fortin says. The retailer competes with physical stores where customers can browse and discover new wines with the help of experts. Fortin hopes that improved personalization tools from RichRelevance—especially with the cash boost—will help Wine.com to grow its consumer base with less time and money by leveraging the power of social networks and referrals.