Inkling uses customer insight data from Beyond Analysis to help UK consumers find the perfect gift

London, UK – 04 March 2013 – With UK consumers spending an average of £1,083 per year shopping online (Ofcom, December 2012), Inkling, the online gift recommendation service, is today bringing the best of the UK high street and online independent retailers straight to the fingertips of those who struggle to find the perfect gift – just in time for Mother’s Day.

The new service from Inkling allows anyone with an online presence to find an ideal gift by simply answering a couple of quick questions on the recipient’s age, gender and lifestyle, and interests (such as being active, fashion, photography or gardening).  Users of the service are then able to select a gift and purchase immediately, or they can shortlist their favourites and share them to gain opinion from mutual friends.

A year in the making, the Inkling team have been working closely with customer intelligence company Beyond Analysis to leverage specialist consumer insight to power the service.  By combining data analysis and smart profiling technology with a team of stylists and writers handpicking gift selections, relevant and appropriate gift suggestions are made from brands that meet a whole suite of different interests, passions and budgets.

Speaking on the launch, Chloe Ross, co-founder of Inkling, said: “Gifts are a fast-growing part of the ecommerce market, but it's harder work than it should be to find a gift online, mainly because we all have to buy for so many different types of people. This was why we knew from the start that data-driven insight needed to be at the heart of Inkling: it carries over a thousand products from over 200 brands to cater for many different niches and demographics, and this all needs to be organised into good recommendations. When we heard about the assets and experience of Beyond Analysis, we knew they were best placed to help us.”

Paul Alexander, CEO of Beyond Analysis says of the partnership: “Working with the Inkling team has not only been a pleasure, but an interesting journey that involved exploring the nation’s shopping habits to unlock spending data which revealed powerful insights into consumer trends.  We believe the key to finding the perfect gift is all about knowing the person you are buying for – and that the clever use of data is the best way to achieve this.  Inkling is a fantastic example of Big Data in action.”

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