California-based smart store retail analytics firm RetailNext has received $42m growth capital financing from Colbeck Capital Management.

This investment positions the company for continued acceleration in its implementation of retail data infrastructure following a record first quarter in 2021.

RetailNext provides a retail vertical IoT platform to bring ecommerce style shopper analytics to brick-and-mortar stores, brands and malls. It focuses entirely on optimising the shopper experience.

Through its centralised SaaS platform, it automatically collects and analyses shopper behaviour data, providing retailers with insight to improve the shopper experience in real time.

“There is no question that the pandemic accelerated the need for retailers to have more precise and reliable data on the real-time condition of their stores,” said Alexei Agratchev, CEO of RetailNext. “We have seen this need for data accelerating through last year and particularly now that many restrictions are lifting, and our customers are looking to the future. 2020 was obviously a tough year for brick-and-mortar retail, but we are encouraged by the strong rebound underway. We are poised for strong growth this year following an outstanding Q1. We are grateful to have Colbeck on board as partners and thrilled that they see the potential in our growth.”

Colbeck Capital Management partners with companies during periods of transition, providing creative capital to meet their evolving needs. Founded in 2009 by Jason Colodne and Jason Beckman, Colbeck’s principals have over 75 years of experience managing credit investing businesses and have underwritten over $22bn of total loan volume. It has offices in New York and Los Angeles.

“We are always looking for investment opportunities where we are able to make an impact,” said Colodne. “We saw a gap in the market during Covid and RetailNext clearly established themselves as a leader in retail analytics. Their strong performance in Q1 has made us even more confident that the company will continue to grow and to innovate.”

More than 450 retailers in over 85 countries have adopted RetailNext’s analytics software and retail expertise to understand the shopper journey so they can increase same-store sales, eliminate unnecessary costs and mitigate liability risks. RetailNext is headquartered in San Jose, California.