BigCommerce Takes Another Step in Becoming the World’s Most Powerful eCommerce Platform
July was a huge month for Austin, TX-based BigCommerce. On July 20th, the company unveiled their newly-formed partnership with Mercado Libre. This venture will allow for BigCommerce merchants to sell to the over-130 million Latin American consumers on Mercado Libre’s marketplace, as well as Mercado Libre’s continued expansion into the United States. Seven days later, BigCommerce formally announced the acquisition of Feedonomics in an asset purchase transaction valued at approximately $145 million. With the power of Feedonomics’ comprehensive data feed management system, BigCommerce aims to become the #1 premier name in eCommerce.
“This acquisition reflects our strong belief that Feedonomics offers the world’s best product feed optimization and syndication solution for merchants looking to optimize their advertising and selling via search engines, ad networks, social media sites and marketplaces. On average, these channels represent ecommerce merchants’ largest non-direct source of sales and one of the largest spending line items. With Feedonomics, BigCommerce merchants maximize their omnichannel sales and return on ad spend (ROAS) by connecting, transforming and enhancing their product data across hundreds of global channels. The combination catapults our ability to deliver the world’s most powerful ecommerce platform for omnichannel selling.”
Brent Bellm
BigCommerce CEO
According to this report by eMarketer, eCommerce advertising spending in the US is slated to exceed $41 billion by the end of 2024. Statista reports an explosive growth of 358.42% when comparing eCommerce retail sales figures from Q1 2011 to Q1 2021. Never before has the sheer dominance of online retail versus brick-and-mortar been ever more apparent and BigCommerce looks to lead the charge into the future with their Mercado Libre partnership and the purchase of Feedonomics.
What is Feedonomics?
Feedonomics is a full-service data feed management system that helps mid-tier and enterprise level merchants sell on over 160 of the top online marketplaces such as Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Target, Google, Facebook and Instagram, and Mercado Libre among others. Feedonomics automates product listing, order management, and optimizes inventory catalog data to increase SEO relevance and conversion rates. Online businesses can provide an improved shopping experience with Feedonomics and BigCommerce combined while receiving top-notch 24-7-365 customer support. Additionally, Feedonomics provides instant automatic data feed error alerts if issues should ever arrive, Amazon error resolution, per-channel pricing and inventory rules, and the ability to view orders from all of your marketplaces in a single, easy-to-navigate user dashboard. BigCommerce currently offers Feedonomics as an app integration with no long-term contracts, no percentage of revenue or setup fees; just a 3-month commitment and a predictable flat monthly rate. BigCommerce will be adding a built-in feed management system to its platform in the near future, but will also continue to pursue a “best-of-breed” approach through partner integrations.
Bellm states, “We knew having worked with (Feedonomics) that in terms of feed management, optimization and integration, at scale they are the best. Maybe not for every single channel, but when certainly when you look across the entirety of channels. Particularly if you want to anchor on Google and all the other channels that use its schema.” Feedonomics will enable sellers to optimize their product listing data for Google’s schema and easily add channels using their branded store as the main hub and the added channels as satellites. Online retailers will be able to take advantage of the brand recognition of names such as Amazon, Walmart, and eBay to help drive their own sales and gain further exposure in the Internet marketplace.
“Early on in our relationship with BigCommerce, we recognized the amazing synergy between our two organizations, and have found both companies to be completely aligned with respect to our visions, market approach and culture. With BigCommerce servicing the critical layer of the ecommerce stack and Feedonomics providing best-in-class technology and service to list products everywhere, merchants of all sizes will be able to take advantage of our true omnichannel ecommerce offerings, to grow their businesses in an increasingly digital-first world.”
Shawn Lipman
Feedonomics CEO
BigCommerce acquired the assets of Feedonomics for up to approximately $145 million, with approximately $80 million in cash paid at closing and up to $32.5 million to be paid at each of the first and second anniversaries of closing or upon the earlier achievement of certain milestones. BigCommerce may elect to make the anniversary payments partially or entirely in shares of its Series 1 common stock in lieu of cash.