Bath-based machine learning software company The Filter, co-founded by musician and entrepreneur Peter Gabriel more than a decade ago, took on more new clients in March than in any other month in its history.
The success in winning the eight clients comes shortly after the firm, based in The Guild innovation hub, entered the retail sector having established itself as one of the market leaders of personalisation and machine learning in the media sector, with customers such as BT TV, UKTV and Australia’s SBS.
Ex-Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel, whose Real World recording studio and innovative music and entertainment business is based at Box, launched the firm after being introduced to the physicist and entrepreneur Martin Hopkins in 2006.
He had created an application to manage his extensive music collection, by ‘learning’ about his tastes and serving up personalised playlists and recommendations. They joined with Bath-based serial software and tech entrepreneur Rhett Ryder to form The Filter
The Filter said last month’s successes proves the effectiveness of its personalisation and digital merchandising platform for online retailers.
Among the new clients is 200-year-old furniture retailer Heal’s, which selected The Filter as its merchandising and personalisation platform of choice due its flexibility and the level of personalisation capability it provides.
Operating six bricks and mortar stores in addition to its flagship online store, Heal’s has been at the forefront of adopting expert ecommerce technology over the years. It said selecting The Filter was another step in its desire to “delight every online customer” while giving optimum control to its merchandising team to drive efficiencies and customer lifetime value.
Heal’s customer & ecommerce director David Kohn said: “We looked at a number of technologies to improve the performance of our category list pages but felt that The Filter offered the best all-round option.
“From a customer point of view it offers greater relevance; for our merchandising team it allows great flexibility in how we manage our pages; and from a technical perspective, it slots easily into our Magento set-up and should be quick to implement.”
Alongside Heal’s, luxury homeware and furniture stores Rockett St George and Chaplin’s were also signed up, cementing The Filter’s position as the leading personalisation software supplier to the sector.
The remaining five successes are made up of luxury fashion retailer Choice Store, designer jeweller Alex Monroe, The Unforgettable Foundation, a charity dedicated to treating and supporting those with dementia, music retailer MDT and electrical appliance supplier JC Campbell.
The Filter CEO Neil Morris, pictured, who joined recently after working in senior positions at the BBC, UKTV and the WiggleCRC online retail group, said: “Winning eight new clients in a single month shows the strength and value of The Filter’s products for ecommerce. Our focus on building machine learning solutions to drive eCommerce personalisation is proving a defining aspect in driving success for online retailers. We’re now increasingly being seen as the standard for Magento-based retailers to engage and retain customers.”
Having established itself as a market leader in machine learning and personalisation within the media and TV sector over the past 10 years, The Filter said it was a natural progression for it to enter the eCommerce world.
Over the past two years, it has developed a sophisticated and powerful merchandising platform for online retailers, giving them the opportunity to personalise the digital experience for their customers and this series of new business wins in retail is evidence of its value to the sector.
