MikMak Plans to Acquire Fellow eCommerce Platform Swaven

MikMak says it is going global by purchasing fellow eCommerce firm Swaven.

The company announced the proposed acquisition Wednesday (Feb. 22), saying it would open the door to markets in Latin America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region, all places where Swaven does business. The acquisition lets MikMak expand its reach to include more than 3,000 retailers in 80 countries.

Swaven, based in Paris, provides omnichannel “where to buy” technology and a conversion funnel management platform that lets consumer brands measure customer journeys at online and offline retailers, MikMak said in a news release.

New York-based MikMak got its start creating short infomercials (or “mini-mercials”) for brands to be viewed on mobile devices.

It has since evolved to provide what it calls a “where to buy” product discovery and checkout solution for brand websites and media, offering analytics and insights as well as technology to “power multi-retail selection and checkout within online video marketing campaigns.”

With the acquisition of Swaven, the company says it is closer to “providing brands with a complete omnichannel view of their consumers.”

Rachel Tipograph, MikMak’s founder and CEO, said the acquisition comes as brands are seeking a number of things: a single platform for eCommerce enablement and analytics, inventory and sales data, and an easy-to-use platform that still has customer support.

“They want all of this in the name of driving profitable brand growth,” said Tipograph. “The acquisition of Swaven better enables us to meet these needs.”

The deal is happening at a point in which there’s a “critical awareness gap” between many modern features merchants provide and consumers’ knowledge of them, as PYMNTS noted in “The 2023 Global Digital Shopping Index”

The features include popular offerings such as free shipping, product recommendations, online returns, and refunds around fraudulent or digital purchases.

PYMNTS’ data showed that consumer satisfaction rises when merchants add and make shoppers aware of features they consider useful to their shopping experiences. On the other hand, shopper satisfaction declines accordingly when merchants take away or change features they consider valuable.

“The presence or absence of specific digital shopping and payment features is how consumers decide which merchant gets their business, and payment choice remains the most important shopping feature for all consumers in all markets across the 34 different merchant capabilities studied,” PYMNTS wrote.