Index Raises 7MM Series A from Eric Schmidt, Vinod Khosla to Revolutionize In-Store Customer Engagement

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Index, a retail software company that brings the personalization and measurement of online commerce to the offline world, announced today that it has secured $7.0 million in a Series A round led by Innovation Endeavors, Khosla Ventures, AIMCo and 819 Capital.

Founded by former Google Wallet executives Marc Freed-Finnegan and Jonathan Wall, Index helps top retailers recognize their customers across channels to deliver personalization that builds loyalty and strengthens customer relationships. The company is setting its sights on helping traditional brick-and-mortar retailers reconcile customer experiences across channels and realize the tremendous potential of digital and mobile. Index is now live in stores in San Francisco.

"When customers opt to share their preferences, it's critical that retailers remember those preferences and going forward, personalize their experience across every channel," says Freed-Finnegan, Co-founder and CEO. "Not surprisingly, customers who are recognized and rewarded by retailers are more loyal, but for many retailers, it's a challenge to tailor communication to individual customers."

Index's software-only solution ties directly into a retailer's point-of-sale and provides a real-time connection that links in-store, online, mobile, and social engagement to provide a unified experience. For customers who opt-in, retailers can deliver personalized service — much like what consumers expect when they log in online. It's seamless for customers and the sales staff within stores.

At its core, Index helps brick-and-mortar retailers once again leverage their physical stores as a competitive differentiator. According to Co-founder and CTO Jonathan Wall, "By helping retailers to put customer preferences front and center with integrated loyalty and promotion programs, Index enables retailers to deliver an outstanding, personalized experience for each customer."

Investor Vinod Khosla adds, "Index gives brick-and-mortar retailers an Amazon-like toolbox for managing customer data and relationships. It's the exact solution sophisticated retailers need to stay competitive and this is the perfect team to deliver it."

"The Index team is uniquely positioned to help retailers measure and improve their marketing impact," says Eric Schmidt, Founding Partner at Innovation Endeavors. "Google Wallet was an early beneficiary of the founders' technical know-how and critical execution skills. Now other retailers can benefit, too."

To tackle the challenge and develop its solution, Index has attracted top technical and retail talent. The product development team brings together technical leadership from Google's big data efforts and business leadership that partnered with retailers at Apple, ran loyalty solutions for Kroger, Macy's and Tesco at dunnhumby, and developed pricing analytics at Oracle. Beyond the core team, Index's advisors have served in C-level roles at leading retailers including Whole Foods, Jamba Juice, Burger King, J.Crew and Williams-Sonoma.

The San Francisco-based company says it will apply its Series A funding to supporting the company's continued rollout with retailers and the growth of its team. 

About Index
San Francisco-based Index provides retailers with software that brings the personalization and measurement of online commerce to the off-line world. Index provides the backbone that powers lifelong customer relationships by delivering unified insight on a customer level. Index helps retailers to meet and greet customers in the channels where they engage, and harness the potential of mobile to elevate and expand these relationships. For more information visit www.index.com and follow @index.

SOURCE Index

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