First Insight Named in Gartner's "Hype Cycle for Retail Technologies, 2016" as a Representative Vendor

PITTSBURGH, PA--(Marketwired - Aug 12, 2016) - First Insight, the world's leading provider of solutions that empower brands to incorporate the voice of the customer into the design and merchandising of new products, announced today it was named as a representative vendor in Gartner's "Hype Cycle for Retail Technologies, 2016" for the fourth year in a row. The report was written by Robert Hetu, Research Director, Gartner Retail Industry Services.

First Insight was listed as a sample vendor in the category of Customer-Centric Merchandising and Marketing with a benefit rating of "high." Some of Gartner's analysis states:

• The concept of customer-centricity is well understood by retailers at a high level. However, the challenge that remains is how to apply algorithms to big data that enable the use of customer behavioral information in a meaningful way.
• Customer-centricity requires the application of algorithms to big data to extract meaningful information to enable customer-centric actions across merchandising and marketing.
• Merchandising and marketing presently diverge in the use of customer data, and the customer experience is frequently adversely impacted by this lack of coordination. Targeted assortments and strategically placed inventory aligned with targeted marketing will increase sales and margins while reducing costs and improving customer experience.

First Insight's InsightSuite solution addresses a key issue for retailers -- this lack of coordination -- by informing the creation of consumer-driven assortments through feedback collected from online consumer engagement. First Insight's customers use this valuable information to design, select, price and market their products, resulting in measurable increases in sales and gross margin. Additionally, InsightTargeting, a core offering of First Insight, allows retailers and brands to build accurate personas based on real-time consumer preferences, enabling users to market the right product at the right price to the right person.

"From e-commerce to the in-store experience, the retail industry is going through a major shakeup due to the emergence of technology in core business practices," said Greg Petro, President and CEO of First Insight. "First Insight is proud to be one of those companies that's changing retail for the better, offering our customers dramatic gains in sales and margin through improved product selection and pricing. We believe our scalable solution is the best way to predict how new products will perform and to mitigate the risk of new product failures."

For more information about First Insight's InsightSuite and other solutions please visit www.firstinsight.com

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About First Insight, Inc.
First Insight is the world's leading provider of solutions that empower brands to incorporate the voice of the customer into the design and merchandising of new products. Through the use of online consumer engagement, the First Insight solution gathers real-time consumer data and applies predictive analytic models to create actionable insights, which drive measurable value. Retailers, manufacturers and brands use the First Insight solution to design, select, price and market the most profitable new products for improved sales, margins and inventory turnover. Customers include some of world's leading vertically integrated brands, sporting goods companies, department stores, mass merchant retailers and wholesalers. For further information, please visit www.firstinsight.com.