Restaurant Platform Olo to Buy Data Firm Wisely for $187M

Olo, an on-demand commerce platform powering the restaurant industry’s digital transformation, will buy customer intelligence and engagement platform Wisely, according to a Thursday (Oct. 21) press release.

The acquisition cost approximately $187 million, with $77 million of the transaction in cash and the remaining $110 million in Olo’s Class A common stock.

Wisely’s services allow for restaurant brands to personalize guest experiences. Through buying Wisely, Olo will allow for more commitment to restaurant brands, giving them more data insights and allowing them to better understand guests.

The release says this will give customers more lifetime value, bolstering retention, frequency and spend initiatives.

Olo will be able to broaden its platform for Wisely’s suite of customer intelligence products, allowing restaurants to curate their tech and work with Olo’s solutions.

“As we look to the future of digital entirety for restaurants, tools that help brands harness customer data and turn it into applicable insights will be essential for them to better serve guests and manage the restaurant enterprise as a whole,” said Noah Glass, founder and CEO of Olo.

Glass added that there have been “clear synergies between the two platforms and a close cultural alignment of putting restaurants first.”

He said Wisely’s products would be able to help “create a differentiated and wide breadth of product offerings that will accelerate our restaurant brands’ digital transformation.”

Wisely has a broadening list of enterprise and emerging enterprise customers. It also has software solutions like its all-in-one Customer Relationship Management, with marketing automation including email and SMS, and a table management, waitlist and reservations solution called Host, a guest sentiment tracker and a customer data platform built just for restaurants.

“With our platform, restaurant brands are better able to personalize the guest experience — in the dining room, online, and through digital means — to ultimately improve customer lifetime value,” said Mike Vichich, Wisely’s co-founder and CEO. “By joining with Olo, restaurant brands will have the ability to unify their transactions and their customers into a single, easy to use system.”

Restaurant loyalty programs were popular in the midst of the pandemic-era economy, with 47% of U.S. customers reportedly using a loyalty program. That’s a broad increase from pre-pandemic times, when only 24% of U.S. customers used such programs.

Read more: How Restaurant Loyalty Programs Can Engage Customers and Grow Sales