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Content discovery and native advertising platform Taboola announced it is acquiring eCommerce outfit Connexity for $800 million.
Taboola enables content syndication service with its AI-driven technology that displays content at the end of the news article. Connexity drives customer acquisitions to the world’s leading commerce brands like Walmart, Wayfair, Skeechers, Macy’s, eBay, and Otto.
The deal represents Taboola’s first acquisition as a publically listed company and fifth overall.
The acquisition isn’t surprising as Taboola’s “Recommendation” growth strategy will help them enter this new segment. Taboola can easily leverage its significant scale and recommendation algorithm to deliver greater value to the eCommerce sector.
With this acquisition, Connexity gets access to 9000 digital partners, 13000 direct advertisers, and 500 million daily active users. It allows Connexity to connect a new type of advertiser to connect with Taboola’s global audience.
AI technology, coupled with Connexity’s retail expertise and index of over 750 million products, will help Taboola with a new type of recommendation. Tapping into the $35 billion U.S. e-commerce market, as well as the large global market.
The recommendation will connect editorial content with product recommendations – based on the stories the consumer is reading.
“The rise of social commerce proves the value of commerce alongside content, and with Connexity, Taboola is prepared to bring that value to the open web. E-commerce is the future of the open web, consumers will buy a lot more than they do today, outside of Amazon, on publisher sites alongside trustworthy editorial content. Amazon has millions of merchants, but merchants mostly have Amazon. That changes today. The combination of Taboola and Connexity technologies is a step forward to create an alternative to walled gardens.
About Taboola
Taboola is an easy-to-set-up ad delivery platform with a wide audience selection feature. It’s a native advertising platform that lets us publish “recommended” content in a variety of popular spaces. Taboola is partnered with many publishers like the Atlantic, Tribune, MailOnline, Business Insider, etc.
At the core, Taboola is a content marketing service provider. Customers use Taboola to drive traffic to their website. The customers who advertise on the platform need to pay on a pay-per-click basis.
About Connexity
Connexity is the world’s second-largest lead provider for eCommerce behind Google.
The Connexity network generates around $750M in annual retail sales by connecting over 30 million shoppers per month.
For over 2 decades, retailers have utilized Connexity’s data-driven performance marketing to drive sales and new customer acquisition. Given the number of visitors, the loyalty of its users, it’s a channel that online retailers consider in their eCommerce marketing strategy.
Conclusion
The acquisition from Taboola is looked at by many eCommerce experts as a new window to opportunity. The AI-driven technology of Taboola, combined with the retail expertise of Connexity will help Taboola introduce a new type of recommendation.
In the era of personalization, Taboola is bringing editorial content with product recommendations based on the stories the consumers read.
This is the fifth acquisition by Taboola and when completed will add 200 more people to their team.
