Wize launches the first shopping by use platform for consumer products
Beta launch features patent-pending technology that provides personalized product recommendations by asking users "What product?" and "How will you use it?"
(SAN MATEO, CA - July 31st, 2008) - Wize (wize.com), a Web site enabling consumers to quickly find the best products based on their needs, announces today the beta launch of the first shopping by use platform for consumer products. The new interface is clean and easy to navigate, asking the two most important questions for consumers -- "What product are you looking for?" and "How will you use it?" Funded by the Mayfield Fund and Bessemer Venture Partners, Wize's shopping by use platform is available for free to consumers at Wize.com.
"As consumers, we think in terms of 'I want a new digital camera for my vacation,' but a retail database doesn't think in terms of uses or needs. It only knows how to generate facts like product specs and pricing," said Wize president and CEO Tom Patterson. "Wize solves that disconnect problem and gives relevant product recommendations to consumers based on human thinking."
Users simply tell Wize what product they are looking for and how they want to use it, and its patent-pending semantic technology provides a personalized list of the top products for their needs, based on what the Web says.
A single platform for product research solves the problem plaguing retailers and consumers, that is, the amount of time it takes to conduct product research online. According to Forrester Research, online product research will affect nearly $1 trillion in U.S. commerce by 2012.
As consumers become more strapped for time and dependent on the Web for information, online retailers will have to evolve the online shopping experience to better meet those needs.
To help online retailers and media properties overcome these challenges, Wize is also introducing its partnership syndication strategy to provide its shopping by use platform's social research product summaries, usages and reviews to retail and media partners. Wize will be announcing partnerships in the near future.
To learn more about Wize, visit wize.com. To inquire about partnership syndication opportunities, visit wize.com/partners or email BizDev@wize.com.
About Wize.com
Wize simplifies product research by helping consumers find products based on their needs instead of technical product features. Users simply tell Wize what product they are looking for and how they want to use it, and its patent-pending semantic technology provides a personalized list of the top products for their needs, based on user and expert reviews on the Web. Wize, headquartered in San Mateo, Calif. with offices in Minneapolis, Minn., is privately held and funded by Mayfield Fund and Bessemer Venture Partners. For media inquiries, contact Patty Oien of Breakaway Communications at (415) 358-2482 or wize@breakawaycom.com. For company information, visit wize.com.
About Mayfield Fund
Mayfield Fund provides "venture capital with impact" by partnering with exceptional individuals to create industry-leading companies. Mayfield has domain expertise in Internet media, communications/mobility and enterprise software. The firm has $2.4 billion under management and a team of twelve investing professionals. Since Mayfield's founding in 1969, the firm has invested in more than 470 high-growth companies, taken more than 100 public, and more than 150 have merged or were acquired. For more information, please visit www.mayfield.com or contact: Kamini Ramani, kramani@mayfield.com.
About Bessemer Venture Partners
Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) is the oldest venture capital practice in the United States. With offices in Silicon Valley, Boston, New York, Shanghai, Mumbai, and Bangalore, the firm manages two billion dollars of venture funds, carrying on a tradition of hands-on, active venture investing that has continued since 1911. Over 100 Bessemer companies have gone public, including American Superconductor, Ciena, Gartner Group, Ingersoll Rand, International Paper, Maxim, Parametric, Perseptive Biosystems, Staples, VeriSign, Veritas, and W.R. Grace.
