Bazaarvoice, the leading product reviews as well as UGC (user-generated content) solutions provider, has reportedly announced that it has acquired Curalate, a company that provides UGC, shoppable social, and influencer marketing solutions to more than 1000 retailers and brands, including Lululemon and Best Buy.

Through this acquisition, Bazaarvoice has created a strong offering that would lead the rising visual commerce trend, wherein customers would increasingly buy on the basis of user generated content.

Curalate’s technologies convert images to digital storefronts that offer customers better shopping experiences online. Through the Curalate acquisition, Bazaarvoice would now offer brands the capability to use inspirational social content to increase sales on websites, social, and across its company’s entire retailer network.

Bazaarvoice consumers would greatly benefit through Curalate’s best-in-class solutions for converting social content into better shoppable experiences coupled with the badged relationship status Curalate enjoys with top social media platforms such as Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook.

Research has highlighted that social content is extremely crucial for the purchase journey, especially for the Gen Z, who are 34% more probable to find out about a new product or brand from online influencers than other age groups. As per the Shopper Experience Index of Bazaarvoice, approximately 42% of shoppers claim that they have purchased items from social media.

Curalate consumers would benefit significantly through Bazaarvoice’s expertise and leadership position in the reviews and rating category, relationships with more than 6,200 brands as well as retailer websites within its global retail network, its global scale, as well as its big user-generated content database.

Moreover, the Bazaarvoice Shopper Experience Index also reported a 17% annual growth in reviews including photos throughout its network as well as a 67% rise in photo submissions in its community of influencer shoppers that are invited by the company to review products.

Curalate co-founders, Nick Shiftan and Apu Gupta, will stay onboard and join the Bazaarvoice team to help lead the vision of visual commerce.

Source credit: https://www.bazaarvoice.com/press/bazaarvoice-acquires-curalate-to-accelerate-social-content-across-its-network/