Big W appoints search technology vendor

Mark Freidin

23rd Sep 2010

Australia’s largest retailer appoints Fredhopper as it launches new online store

23 September 2010 – Fredhopper has been appointed by Woolworths in Australia to provide merchandising and product search technology for the online store of its general merchandise division, BigW.

The win follows the announcement of Fredhopper’s international expansion plans and marks the company’s launch into the Asia-Pacific market. Fredhopper, which has now opened an Australian office, was selected after Woolworths conducted a global pitch.

Woolworths is the largest retailer in Australia with a number of divisions and brands covering most retail categories, including electronic products, fashion, homewares, toys, sports and entertainment goods. www.bigw.com.au launched in May this year, and is the first of Woolworths’ stores to utilise Fredhopper as part of an enterprise multichannel retail platform.

“We selected Fredhopper after an extensive review of online merchandising solutions on the market,” said Daniel Roberts, Head of Online at Woolworths. “We were impressed with the comprehensive and easy to use technology, the control this gives the business in merchandising the site and the intuitive experience it gives to our customers in selecting products from broad and deep categories.”

Woolworths is looking to leverage the capabilities of Fredhopper across more of its online stores in the coming months. Fredhopper will also help Woolworths to explore how the technology can be used to improve the commercial and operational efficiency of online merchandising and campaign management.

“Our team has worked with Woolworths’ online team in Sydney to create an unparalleled user experience and provide the brand’s merchandisers with the tools and training to allow for extensive targeting,” said Joris Beckers, CEO of Fredhopper.

Fredhopper has recently opened an office in the US where it aims to become retailers’ first choice in the on-site search, merchandising and targeting market. The company’s European client base includes B&Q, Toys R’ Us and Waitrose. Fredhopper is rated number one for search and merchandising by US technology analyst Patricia Seybold Group.