Shoptalk Spring 2025 Media Announcements
Spangle Emerges from Stealth to Power 1:1 Commerce for Retailers with Agentic AI and ProductGPT
With $6M in seed funding, the vertical AI platform for retail bridges the customer experience gap between marketing and e-commerce — autonomously driving sales and delivering optimized shopping experiences at scale
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, SpangleAI (Spangle) emerges from stealth to launch an AI-powered commerce platform for retailers to maximize revenue from paid traffic. Backed by leading firms Madrona Ventures and Streamlined Ventures, Spangle sets a new standard for AI-driven commerce, seamlessly integrating with retailers’ existing systems to scale and optimize the post-click consumer experience.
One of the most expensive and overlooked challenges in e-commerce is the disconnect between hyper-targeted marketing and one-size-fits-all shopping experiences. The cost of each site visit has climbed 9% over the past year, as brands and retailers grow more dependent on paid traffic to drive growth. Meanwhile, 76% of consumers express frustration when personalized interaction expectations are unmet. Despite advances in AI, most digital shopping experiences remain fragmented and fail to holistically learn from consumer behavior, missing the opportunity to leverage AI and reinforcement learning.
To bridge the customer experience gap, Spangle delivers self-optimizing shopping journeys that are contextually relevant and adaptive based on consumer engagement in real time. Spangle’s proprietary ProductGPT powers this experience with a large product model that decodes context, consumer interactions, and merchant data. Paired with 360-degree product intelligence, Spangle’s AI agents autonomously tackle complex challenges at scale, delivering experiences that enhance revenue, boost conversion rates, and optimize efficiency to maximize the value of every visit.
The opportunity is clear. Spangle’s AI platform has delivered strong results in controlled A/B tests with multiple clients:
- 51% lift in conversion rates
- 46% increase in engagement
- 18% rise in Average Order Value (AOV)
- 2x improvement in Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
“Digital commerce needs a fresh approach. That’s why we developed an AI platform tailored to the unique needs of brands and retailers — unlocking native AI shopping experiences that adapt to consumer engagement in real-time, deliver one-to-one interactions, and drive better results while streamlining operational inefficiencies,” said Maju Kuruvilla, CEO of SpangleAI. “Personalization across retail has failed to live up to its promise due to its reliance on sparse, expensive, and backward looking customer data. No single merchant has enough customer data to make accurate predictions, and customers want more than repeat purchases. Inspired by social media platforms, customers are seeking relevance and variety, and we’re delivering on these changing expectations with a next-generation native AI e-commerce platform.”
Spangle combines market-leading AI expertise with seasoned industry veterans from Amazon, Gap, and Saks Off Fifth to help retailers capitalize on commerce's most costly missed opportunity.
"AI has the potential to optimize relationships between consumers and brands, but many brands still face a gap between growing expectations and reality. To win, they must deliver relevant, scalable experiences that actually drive higher satisfaction and conversion,” said Scott Jacobson, Managing Director at Madrona Ventures. “Spangle’s agentic AI has demonstrated tangible impact for brands by improving engagement and conversion, particularly in traditionally low-performing paid channels. We’re excited to support Spangle as they redefine how retailers connect with customers at the application layer.”
"At WHP Global, we are committed to leveraging AI-driven innovations that enhance our brands and create meaningful customer experiences," said Gary Haas, VP of eCommerce at WHP Global, which owns a portfolio of global consumer brands, including Anne Klein. "By implementing Spangle’s technology for AnneKlein.com, we’ve unlocked new efficiencies and identified multiple areas where their core technology and ProductGPT can add significant value to our customers’ experience. We look forward to further integrating their AI solutions to deepen engagement and drive growth across our digital channels."
"Consumer expectations are evolving rapidly, fueled by generative AI’s adoption across the consumer landscape. Shoppers now expect technology to understand their intent, anticipate their next question, and deliver tailored results in real time, and e-commerce needs to meet those expectations to remain competitive," said Ullas Naik, Founder & General Partner at Streamlined Ventures. “Spangle gets to the heart of this issue. Spangle offers a game-changing platform that empowers retailers to compete by improving consumer interactions and providing a scalable, sustainable path forward.”
"In my work with global retailers and through leading Coresight's Retail AI Council, I consistently hear that executives are struggling to keep up with evolving consumer expectations while also managing rising acquisition costs," said Deborah Weinswig, CEO and Founder of Coresight Research. "Unlocking the full potential of AI in retail requires deep industry expertise combined with world-class AI talent. With their deep domain expertise and track record of delivering value, Spangle is a company the industry should be watching closely."
For more information on Spangle, including retailer partners, please visit spangle.ai.
About SpangleAI
Spangle enables retail brands to capture more revenue from paid traffic, with agents that autonomously solve complex tasks driving higher conversion, revenue, and ROAS for merchants at scale. Backed by top-tier VCs including Madrona Ventures and Streamlined Ventures, our team brings 30+ years of expertise in scaling AI initiatives at Amazon, luxury retail, and lifestyle brands. As serial entrepreneurs, our team has solved complex commerce challenges and driven ROI for industry leaders and high-growth disruptors. Learn more at: https://www.spangle.ai/
Contacts
Matt Culbertson
SutherlandGold for SpangleAI
spangle@sutherlandgold.com
Coming soon
Braze Launches New Shopify Partnership and eCommerce Features
New capabilities and Shopify integration enable brands to more quickly and easily build great customer experiences with Braze
Braze (Nasdaq: BRZE), the leading customer engagement platform that empowers brands to Be Absolutely Engaging, today announced a new strategic partnership and integration with Shopify, along with new features and templates to personalize shopper engagement. These capabilities offer enhanced real-time insights into individual preferences during the shopping journeys that help eCommerce marketers quickly create the campaigns that power their daily operations—allowing them to focus more on crafting experiences that build lasting relationships with their shoppers.
The Braze Customer Engagement Platform provides a real-time, flexible cross-channel solution for brands of all sizes, industries, and geographies. Brands can leverage features such as the Braze Data Platform, BrazeAIâ„¢, and native cross-channel capabilities to unify customer insights and create highly relevant, memorable experiences. Brands in retail, consumer packaged goods, and more, such as e.l.f. Beauty, Hugo Boss, Gymshark, Gap, and Overstock already use Braze as a part of their eCommerce journeys.
At e.l.f. Cosmetics, we know that truly understanding our consumers allows us to serve them better,†said Brigitte Baron, Senior Director, Global CRM & Customer Growth at e.l.f. Cosmetics. “It’s not just about reaching them, it’s about delivering value in ways that feel relevant and welcome. With Braze, we can create personalized, data-driven experiences that resonate with our community, ensuring every interaction is meaningful rather than just another message."
Easily Activate Real-Time eCommerce Insights with Braze and Shopify
The new Braze and Shopify strategic partnership enables enterprise brands to create seamless, personalized customer journeys by combining Shopify's eCommerce capabilities with Braze's real-time engagement platform —supporting higher conversions, retention, and lifetime value. With the enhanced Shopify integration, eCommerce brands can onboard quickly to support bi-directional flow of commerce insights, enhance identity management, and enable personalized shopping experiences using visitor data and product metafields from Shopify. (Q1 2025)
"At Shopify, we are committed to making commerce better for everyone," said Dale Traxler, Director - Technology Partnerships at Shopify. "Our plug and play integration with Braze allows brands to action insights across both platforms and engage consumers with better shopping experiences in the moments that matter. We're excited to partner with Braze to help Enterprises stay ahead in today's dynamic retail and eCommerce landscape."
Achieve Faster Time to Value with Native eCommerce Capabilities
New native eCommerce data schemas and templates help brands more quickly understand shopper behaviors and take relevant actions at every step of their journey:
With pre-defined events from Shopify, marketers can unlock a range of eCommerce use cases, such as Abandoned Cart, to quickly activate campaigns and see a direct impact on their ROI. (Available in Q1 2025 for Shopify customers, Q2 2025 for Non-Shopify customers)
Pre-built Canvas (Q1 2025) and Email templates (Q3 2025), specifically designed for eCommerce and aligned with industry best practices, allow marketers to quickly and easily create visually appealing and effective campaigns.
Customizable drag and drop Landing Page templates accelerate the creation of new landing pages, allowing marketers to promote their products and grow their email, SMS, and WhatsApp lists. (Q1 2025)
Deliver Richer, No-code Personalized Cross-channel Experiences
Marketers can also take advantage of new capabilities to deliver richer, frictionless shopping experiences that spotlight the most relevant products and services across WhatsApp and email channels:
Marketers will be able to add dynamic, no-code product personalization using drag and drop email composer, enabling highly targeted messaging by aligning their products with their customers’ unique interests and tastes. (Q3 2025)
With the upcoming release of WhatsApp Commerce, global eCommerce brands can drive more sales by using their Meta Catalogs to easily create dynamic WhatsApp product messages and rich, in-thread shopping experiences. Other WhatsApp enhancements like more rich media support (including video) and WhatsApp Lists enable merchants to show off their products in new ways and provide personalized recommendations based on customer preferences. Click tracking helps marketers effectively retarget customers on WhatsApp and other channels to drive more conversions. (Q2 2025)
"We built the Braze platform to be flexible and powerful enough to enable brands across every industry, region, and size to create relevant, engaging experiences," said Kevin Wang, Braze Chief Product Officer. “This has allowed brands to build on our real-time streaming architecture, data modularity, and native cross-channel approach, leading to positive business results for eCommerce brands. As we focus more on specific industries, we see opportunities to make Braze even easier for marketers to use. We're excited to take this step further for eCommerce, in partnership with other leaders in this space like Shopify, to make it quicker and simpler to understand and engage consumers across their entire journey."
The next evolution in brand visibility is here. Semrush, the global leader in online visibility and competitive intelligence, is unveiling AIO (AI Optimization), the first solution built to give marketers strategic control over how their brand appears across AI-driven search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini.
Be the first to experience it.
Join us for the exclusive premiere of AIO on March 26 at 4:30 PM at Booth #858 during Shoptalk. Witness how top brands are gaining the upper hand in AI search before competitors even realize whats happening.
"AI search is already making decisions about your brand. AIO puts marketers back in control," said Marcus Tober, SVP of Enterprise Solutions at Semrush. "It’s the first platform built specifically to monitor, analyze, and shape brand presence in AI-generated results."
With 58% of consumers now relying on AI for brand and product recommendations “and the global AI market projected to grow by 37% annually“ businesses that master AI visibility now will lead the future.
AIO empowers brands to:
Gain AI Visibility at Scale: Track brand mentions across major LLMs and AI search platforms in real-time.
Maintain Strategic Brand Control: Detect inaccuracies, monitor source content, and proactively shape AI-driven messaging.
Turn AI Insights into Action: Leverage AI analytics to optimize digital strategy and uncover competitive growth opportunities.
"For the first time, businesses can see how AI portrays them – and do something about it,"said Andrew Warden, CMO of Semrush. "AIO is the new standard for marketers in an AI-first world."
Don't miss the reveal.
Join us at Booth #858 on March 26 at 4:30 PM for the exclusive launch event.
— Learn more or join the waitlist: semrush.com/lp/enterprise-aio
-------