SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today,
the R/GA Ventures Connected Commerce Accelerator in
partnership with Westfield Labs concluded with a demo event at Bespoke in Westfield San Francisco
Centre. Following 12 weeks of mentorship, pilots, and ongoing work with brand, technology, and business consultants from the R/GA
Services team, Westfield Labs, and program partners, the ten participating companies took the
stage to present their commerce and retail-focused businesses to investors and business partners.
The 10 program participants represent the next wave of innovation in the commerce and retail space. They range from innovative
takes on fulfilment, delivery, and returns (AxleHire, Darkstore, Happy Returns), to retail workforce optimization and training
solutions (Myagi, Percolata), to adaptive messaging powered by machine learning (Cordial) to a new platform for the connected
store (Oak). There are also three companies each with unique approaches to using artificial intelligence (AI) for customer
service, bot management, and image recognition (AgentQ, Reply, Clarifai).
Announcements made during the showcase include a pilot program between Happy Returns and Westfield, two new Darkstore
locations in New York and Phoenix, and the launch of OAK
Stockroom.
The R/GA Connected Commerce Accelerator with Westfield Labs graduating class includes:
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Agent Q is a customer service chat platform that
superpowers your agents with Artificial Intelligence. With the help of the R/GA Services team and the program partners, Agent
Q has trained its machine learning algorithms to make agents faster and more effective.
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AxleHire provides same-day delivery services for
e-commerce and brick-and-mortar retailers that demand reliability and exceptional customer service. Throughout the program,
they doubled in size - expanding revenue to almost $200,000 per month, fulfilling 40,000
deliveries in September alone.
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Clarifai is an AI company that empowers businesses and
developers to solve real-world problems using visual recognition. During the program, Clarifai launched Custom Training,
which enables customers to train AI models, and Visual Search which allows businesses to easily use AI-powered search to
browse, find, and recommend images by keyword and visual similarity. Clarifai recently announced a $30
million round of funding led by Menlo Ventures.
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Cordial is an adaptive messaging platform that helps
retailers and publishers combine analytics with machine learning to create messaging that speak to what consumers need in the
moment. In partnership with R/GA, Cordial is expanding its machine learning capabilities and expand their customer base.
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Darkstore is an on-demand delivery fulfillment
platform that enables e-commerce brands to store inventory in warehouses within cities so they can offer same-day delivery.
Having already launched in San Francisco in May with Tuft & Needle, today they are
launching four more brands including Frank + Oak, Peel, Wildfang, and Skipodz and announcing new Darkstore locations in
New York City and Phoenix.
-
Happy Returns is a technology, logistics, and
service company that enables in-person returns for online shoppers. Building a network of Return Bars where online shoppers
can return items in person for an immediate refund, the company eliminates the hassle and wait of returns by mail. Today,
Happy Returns is announcing the expansion of its Return Bar network to two new Westfield locations, Westfield Topanga and
Westfield San Francisco Centre, where its return services are now fully integrated into the mall concierge.
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Myagi lets sales associates master the customer experience,
by delivering lightweight, easy-to-access lessons at exactly the right time.
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Oak known for their OAK Mirror, today announces Oak
StockRoom, a new product leveraging Artificial Intelligence to predict and request in-store stock movement. Additionally, Oak
provided a sneak peek at future products in their connected-store ecosystem.
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Percolata uses sensor and sales data in physical
retail stores to optimize sales teams, giving a 10-30% boost in revenue using the same labor budget and staff.
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Reply.ai makes customer service suck less. With an
end-to-end chatbot platform that can build, manage, and optimize 1:1 communication with customers at scale, Reply works with
major brands and retailers to make customer service more manageable and efficient through messaging. Reply even partnered
with R/GA and the Ad Council to power GoVoteBot, just in time to make registering to vote suck less, too.
Throughout the program, each company received customized support from R/GA and Westfield Labs,
as well as input and collaboration from program partners including Macy's, Shopify Plus, Bank of America Merchant Services,
Verizon, and Walmart. The program emphasized opportunities for business development and pilots with the program partners and
their networks, enabling participants to develop new business models and actionable paths to market.
For more information, please visit www.rgacommerce.com and follow @rgaventures.
About R/GA
R/GA, the company for the Connected Age, develops
products, services and communications to grow our clients' brands and businesses. Founded in 1977, the agency has been a pioneer
at the intersection of technology, design and marketing with work spanning web, mobile, and social communications, retail and
e-commerce, product innovation, brand development and business consulting. R/GA has more than 2,000 employees globally with
offices across the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia-Pacific and is part of The Interpublic Group of
Companies (NYSE:IPG), one of the world's largest advertising and marketing services organizations. R/GA Ventures was founded in
2013 and is a member of the GAN (gan.co), a network of the
world's most respected accelerators and organizations in support of the startup ecosystem. For more information about R/GA,
please visit www.rga.com and @rgaventures.
About Westfield Labs
Westfield Labs is an entity of Westfield Corporation and serves as a global digital lab
focused on removing the friction from physical commerce. A part of Westfield Retail Solutions, Westfield
Labs works closely with Data Analytics, Business Development and Information Technology teams to respond to the
strategic challenges and opportunities faced by retailers around the world presented by the rise of digital technology.
Westfield Labs is committed to transforming emerging ideas and technologies into viable businesses
that move the retail industry forward. The team develops and pilots new technologies that converge the digital shopper with the
physical world. For more information, visit www.WestfieldLabs.com. Follow Westfield Labs on Twitter or on its blog.
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SOURCE R/GA