Air New Zealand has teamed up with a Canadian data marketing firm to buy a local cloud-based retail analytics company.
The purchase of 11Ants Analytics, whose software aims to help retailers understand their customers better, will allow the airline to "listen, understand and act with a much deeper understanding" of its customers, says Hamish Rumbold, Air New Zealand general manager of customer value.
"Businesses have a lot of information about their customers' buying behaviour but often don't know how to use it to improve the experience for the customer or the performance of their business," says Mr Rumbold.
"In an increasingly digital world, customers expect the businesses they frequent to provide them with a personalised experience."
11Ants Analytics began life at Waikato University, developed and funded by the institution's commercial arm, WaikatoLink.
"Businesses all over the world have an appetite for customer analytics, but typically they don't have the know-how or the budget to execute," says 11Ants Analytics chief executive Tom Fuyala.
"11Ants Analytics' solutions make customer science accessible, affordable and immediately deployable."
The purchase will allow 11Ants Analytics to expand its operations into the 20 countries new Canadian part-owner Aimia already operates, in the retail and travel sectors.
"The investment by Air New Zealand and Aimia offers significant opportunities to accelerate the growth of 11Ants Analytics' existing products globally and to continue to innovate into the future," says WaikatoLink chief executive Duncan Mackintosh.
Terms of the deal are being kept confidential.
3 News
source: newshub archive
