Bazaarvoice Enters French Market, Signs Fnac.com

New Paris Office Complements Existing EMEA Operations and Allows Bazaarvoice to Better Serve Clients in Continental Europe

Bazaarvoice, the worldwide leader in hosted social commerce applications that drive sales, today announced the opening of its new European office in Paris, France. The office is headed by Kamal Kirpalani, who brings more than 10 years of experience in EMEA sales and business development roles. Bazaarvoice is inaugurating its operation in France with Fnac. Fnac decided to replace its in-house solution with Bazaarvoice’s Ratings & Reviews™ to take advantage of this powerful new way to gain the loyalty of its online customers and even plans to use the reviews and ratings in its retail store merchandizing.

Fnac is a leader in the distribution of cultural and leisure products, including books, CDs, micro-computers, and photography equipment. Fnac has a strong presence in France with 69 shops, and 41 outlets in Belgium, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, and Greece.

“Ratings & Reviews is based on proven performance with measurable results from its English and American customers,” said Xavier Flamand, director of Fnac Direct. “Thanks to Bazaarvoice, we hope to improve our conversion rate, customer loyalty, and average order value, while reducing the number of returns and site abandonment rate.”

Bazaarvoice, which opened its London office a year ago and supports more than 20 languages, is rapidly expanding its operations throughout Europe as companies adopt social commerce capabilities in a booming eCommerce environment. In 2007, European online retail sales increased 58% over 2006, and Forrester predicts more and more European consumers will turn to ratings and reviews to make better purchase decisions this year. Recent research from JupiterResearch and Bazaarvoice shows that over two-thirds of online shoppers in the UK consider product ratings and reviews the most helpful feature when researching product purchases – and 97% trust online reviews. Fnac joins such international brands as Boden, Dell, Early Learning Centre, figleaves.com, Goldsmiths, and Timberland UK among Bazaarvoice’s 200-plus client base.

“Customer demand for authentic, relevant user-generated content is universal and global. With this demand, Bazaarvoice is rapidly expanding overseas,” said Brett Hurt, founder and CEO of Bazaaarvoice. “We are pleased to open this new French office to provide the best possible service to our growing list of international clients, and Kamal brings significant expertise and understanding of the market to his leadership role. With offices in London, Singapore, and now Paris, Bazaarvoice is the clear choice for global marketers who want to drive sales and brand value.”

About Bazaarvoice

Bazaarvoice offers outsourced technology, services, analytics, and expertise to help companies enhance the online shopping experience with social commerce applications that drive sales. Bazaarvoice Ratings & Reviews™ and Ask & Answer™ deliver immediate success by minimizing implementation risk and maximizing the strategic impact of user-generated review content through complete customization, deep integration, community management, advanced analytics, search engine optimization, and syndication across the Web and to offline channels.

Bazaarvoice was named to the 2007 Red Herring Global 100 and 2006 Red Herring Top 100 lists and received the 2006 ClickZ Marketing Innovation of the Year award. Bazaarvoice currently serves over 200 eCommerce leaders including Bass Pro Shops, Dell, Macy’s, Office Depot, Inc., Overstock.com, PETCO, QVC, Sears, and ZipRealty. The company has headquarters in Austin, TX and offices in London, Paris, and Singapore. For more information, please visit the company’s Web site at www.bazaarvoice.com, read the blog at www.bazaarblog.com, or email info {at} bazaarvoice(.)com.

Contacts

Bazaarvoice
Renee Newby, 757-651-6554
renee {at} bradypr(.)com