Deals: Euclid Analytics Raises $20M Series C To Track Consumer Behavior In Retail Stores

By Catherine Shu for Techcrunch.com

Euclid Analytics plans to help more companies track customer behavior in their retail stores after raising a $20 million Series C. The funding will be used to acquire clients, add new employees, and build Euclid’s location analytics platform.

The round, which brings Euclid’s total raised so far to $44 million, was led by media conglomerate Cox Enterprises. Groupe Arnault (the investment firm that holds a controlling stake in luxury group LVMH) and Gold Sky Capital also participated, along with returning investors Benchmark, NEA, and Harrison Metal.

Groupe Arnault will serve as a strategic partner, Euclid chief executive officer Brent Franson told TechCrunch. This means the two companies will work together to improve Euclid’s technology and insights using information from Groupe Arnault’s market research.

Euclid’s location analytics technology monitors traffic inside brick-and-mortar businesses, including stores, fast food restaurants, banks, shopping malls, and transportation hubs like airports. The company says it is currently used by 500 brands in 65 countries and captures about seven billion data points every day.

Instead of requiring hardware like door clickers or cameras, Euclid’s technology works with Wi-Fi systems from Aerohive, Cisco, HP/Aruba Networks, Meraki, Ruckus, and Xirrus to collect media access control (MAC) addresses from smartphones, which are then encrypted and stored on its servers (stores are required to display information for customers who want to opt-out). Then Euclid tracks where shoppers go as they browse, how long they dwell in certain areas, the total length of their visit, and how often they return before aggregating the data into reports designed to help companies improve sales, marketing, and conversion rates.

“Our [key performance indicators] provide new insights into shopper behavior and how they impact key business outcomes,” Franson said in an email. “For example, how are shopper dwell times, repeat visits, bounce rates, or storefront conversions affecting sales? Did an advertising campaign or new store layout boost traffic or new shoppers? Did increased staffing in the quick service restaurant bounce rates?”

Other location analytics companies that help retailers answer the same questions include RetailNext, Locately, and Placed, but Franson said Euclid is the only one that doesn’t require stores to install hardware or ask its customers to download smartphone apps first in order to gather data. This will help the company attract brands that need to track consumer traffic across their brick-and-mortar and online stores, he added.

“As we move into an omni-channel marketplace where digitally connected consumers seamlessly shop across online and offline, we can connect the dots from the physical world and gain a single view of the customer,” Franson said. “Our competitors can’t make that claim.”