Singapore's PE-backed Trax secures US retail tech bolt-on

Shopkick is used by leading global brands and retailers including Lego, Kellogg's, TJ Maxx and Unilever. It aims to increase consumer engagement by turning shopping into a rewarding experience that extends beyond the store. Customers can use the company's app to earn rewards for browsing online content, watching videos, and making online and offline purchases, among other activities.

With Trax, retail employees can use their smart phones to photograph store shelves and upload the images to a cloud-based platform where image recognition algorithms identify products and turn the data into actionable information, including recommendations on product positioning and promotion. The company hopes to use Shopkick's customer engagement expertise to improve its insights and deliver more value for its retail clients, according to a statement.

Investors in Trax include Boyu Capital, which led a $125 million funding round for the company last year with participation by UK-based media company DC Thomson. Warburg Pincus and Investec Bank have also committed significant capital to the company.

Earlier this year Trax announced a merger with LenzTech, a Chinese developer of artificial intelligence and image recognition technology, along with a crowdsourcing platform aimed at improving Chinese retailers' customer outreach. As part of the merger Trax established a dedicated research and development center in China aimed at addressing unique market challenges.

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