Russian Retail Chain, Ulybka Radugi, to Debut Synqera's Customer Personalization Technology

SAINT-PETERSBURG, Russia, June 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Synqera, a technology startup that uses big data to bring a personalized digital experience to the physical retail store, today announces its joint pilot program with Ulybka Radugi, one of the largest Russian retail chains, which will be integrating Synqera technology to incentivize consumer's path to purchase and fostering loyalty. Synqera will begin selectively integrating its Simplate product within Ulybka's retail chain, which consists of over 280 locations throughout Russia starting July, 2013.

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The piloted solution serves as a proprietary facial recognition media communications device utilizing Synqera software platform at the point of payment within Ulybka Radugi physical shops. It will be the first-ever, intelligent retail technology to leverage a combination of Big Data and real-time customer response to viewed content through a device's camera and touch screen.

Synqera's software syncs the physical profile of each customer facing the sensors-enabled checkout device, data from the loyalty card, and actual shopping basket with the parameters of preliminary uploaded content. The software then creates rich visual media on the interactive customer display for each customer's unique order, shopping tendencies and response rate, in real time. Optionally, this highly personalized content can be also delivered outside the store through mobile apps, SMS text messages, e-mail or web-site content customization – all channels are managed via one Back Office interface.

"Retailers have been looking for ways to incentivize customers to return, from the moment of entering the store to the point of purchase, but few have been able to keep up with technological advances," said Filipp Shubin, Synqera COO. "Consumers—typically female—frequently purchase cosmetics and household goods across a variety of stores and channels. Synqera is able to help self-adjust the in-store purchase process in a notoriously difficult section of retail—the female consumer shopping experience."

Synqera identified an opportunity within brick and mortar retailers to drive sales by nurturing customer loyalty by converting both the browsing time shopping and the 40-second minimum that customers spend idly at the point of payment into brand engagement. The marketing solution can be tailored to a company's needs and integrated with back-end infrastructures, such as CRM, ERP and POS systems, that can be used for personalized, interactive communications with the shopper. The device can accept various payment and loyalty cards, including those in virtual mobile or online wallets, in essence becoming a universal checkout point solution.

Within the framework of the Ulybka Radugi pilot project, the Synqera technology allows a twofold solution: to increase the average customer profitability by offering targeted products based on automated analysis of the ever-growing customer database, and to promote a new form of bonus-based loyalty program with "check ins" directly at the cashier counter.

"This partnership with Synqera is the first step in taking a well-respected retail brand like Ulybka Radugi and providing an enhanced customer experience at all levels of shopping," said Alexander Filatov, head of strategic marketing at Ulybka Radugi. "In time, we may further explore the toolset of the Synqera software platform, addressing personalized messages to our customers through mobile and web channels in order to establish relevant and consistent communication."

About Synqera Technology

Included key features of integrated software-hardware solution:

• Back-End Data Analysis: customer and regional-specific preferences and insights -- gender, age, weather conditions, local events and purchase preferences, to name a few -- are triggered for each consumer, analyzed and used to create a personalized communication scenario, which prompts the system to deliver appropriate messages to the customer engaging through devices in-store or other channels.
• Real-Time Intelligence: captures physical information, such as a smile captured via face recognition or a touch of the screen, enabling the software platform to analyze the content received to determine end user response automatically. This in turn provides feedback for enriching and optimizing existing content.
• Rich Media Display: intuitive and interactive multimedia engine creates an end user customized experience tailored to the individual buying process on an eight-inch touchscreen customer display.
• Interactive Tools: Near Field Communication (NFC) module, magstripe-reader, touchscreen, camera and microphone makes the system easy-to-use and allows for business-driven messages to be highlighted as appropriate to the customer.
• Gamification: a short game or survey enables brands to promote deals to the customer in order to upsell, cross-sell or advertise relevant products and services, as well as reward them for loyalty.
• Bringing Online Offline: provides online businesses with the opportunity to connect offline with consumers through virtual services and receive data in real-time buying experiences.
• Multichannel Approach: software platform allows distribution of personalized, consistent content not only through in-store device but also outside the store via mobile and web channels.

About Ulybka Radugi
Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, Ulybka Radugi is a leading Russian retail brand of Era Trading LLC, which owns and operates more than 280 retail cosmetics and household chemicals stores across the Russian Federation. The brand collectively services more than 2.5 million unique customers annually with turnover more than USD $200MM. More information can be found at http://r-ulybka.ru.

About Synqera
Synqera, a retail technology start-up, develops big data-driven technologies that bring the personalized online shopping experience to physical retail stores, creating a more compelling in-store experience for consumers and greater customer loyalty and increased sales opportunities for retailers. Founded in 2010, Synqera launched its first product Simplate in 2012 in Europe and in 2013 in the United States, providing a new concept of real-time business-to-customer media communications. Synqera is headquartered in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, with its U.S. office in New York City. For further information about Synqera visit http://Synqera.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

Press Release Contact:

Chris Prouty
MWW for Synqera
[email protected]

SOURCE Synqera