Dive Brief:

• Contentsquare, whose digital experience insights platform helps retailers and brands track customer behavior patterns, said it raised $60 million in a Series C funding round led by global investment firm Eurazeo, according to a Contentsquare press release.

• The company said it will use the money to increase research and development around artificial intelligence and predictive analytics, and to continue its business expansion throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Middle East.

• The funding announcement comes two weeks after Contentsquare disclosed that French cosmetics retailer and brand L’Occitane started using the company’s AI Alerts technology to detect and react to technical and usability anomalies on its digital shopping platforms, according to a separate Contentsquare press release.

Dive Insight:

Predictive and general user experience analytics have been increasingly used in the retail sector in recent years, and Contentsquare already has made a name for itself working with retailers and brands. In addition to L’Occitane, its client list includes Walmart, Sephora, Tiffany, LVMH and Ikea.

AI Alerts was one of the capabilities that Contentsquare developed following its series B funding a year ago. The latest round brings the startup's total venture capital funding since 2016 to $120 million. Contentsquare​ Founder and CEO Jonathan Cherki said in a statement that the latest funds will go to "leveraging deeper analytics to expand our insights and make them smarter."

In what has to be one of the more unique uses of AR in the retail sector, Contentsquare developed CS Live, technology that allows retailers to browse their sites for instant user experience analytics. The capability requires no extensive technology training. 

These capabilities can allow retailers and brands that use the company’s software-as-a-service platform to react to atypical usage or traffic patterns.