Rokt’s 2021 year in review

As 2021 comes to an end, we’re taking a moment to reflect on all the major events and milestones we’ve experienced throughout the year.

The shift from physical retail to ecommerce continued to skyrocket, travel and entertainment bounced back, Apple changed the game with restrictions on digital ad tracking, and customers demanded more personalized and relevant experiences than ever before.

At Rokt, we saw tremendous growth in terms of teams and clients, enabled businesses across verticals to use their own first-party data to effectively market to customers, expanded our international reach, and announced a major round of funding.

Although 2021 came with its pandemic-fueled challenges, the perseverance and determination of our team, clients and community is what made it a memorable year. Here’s a look back on all the work we accomplished together, as we look ahead to 2022.

• Building is in our DNA. Watch our CEO, Bruce Buchanan share why and how he started Rokt and what his mission and vision is for our company and ecommerce moving forward.
• Earlier in the year we published a blog post about the ‘Paradox of Choice’ and how the temptation to offer endless choices on an ecommerce site can ultimately be a major deterrent to an online business. Read the complete piece here to learn how ecommerce businesses can fully optimize their sites to maximize customer engagement and double their profitability.
• The death of the cookie and newly enacted restrictions on digital ad tracking reduced the ROI online businesses achieve by advertising on search and social. Malique Morries, contributor at The Information, shared his thoughts on this trend, the future of customer data and how companies like Rokt can be the solution. Read the full article here.
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• Our team of Rokt’stars grew by 131 in 2021 across our global offices, which brings us to nearly 400 Rokt’stars worldwide. Together we played a whopping 451 matches of ping pong this year and celebrated the holidays in person  with our fully vaccinated team. Watch our annual Holiday Lip Sync video here.
• Rokt optimized nearly 600 Million transactions in 2021 and the business will end the year with close to $USD240 million in revenue;  a 135% increase from last year. Rokt CEO Bruce Buchanan spoke to Sharon Edelson at Forbes,  about how Rokt personalizes Transactions, Cutting Through The Clutter Of E-Commerce Sites. Read the full article here.‍
• Women make up almost half (47%) of the US workforce, but they hold less than one-third (28%) of the leadership positions in tech (BCG), at Rokt we take diversity seriously. We  added two  incredible women to our c-suite this year: Sarah Wilson (Chief People Officer), and Laura Mineo (Chief Financial Officer). 57% of our executive leadership team is now made up of women.
• We were once again certified as a Great Place to Work,and made it to the Inc. 5000 list of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies.  Check out our Chief People Officer’s byline about building trust through transparency and the people-first culture at Rokt.
• Rokt’s technology was recognized by the MarTech Breakthrough awards as the Best Overall Conversion Optimization Solution. We were also officially recognized as SOC 2 Type 1 compliant and ISO Certified as Rokt continues our commitment to holding ourselves to the highest standards for data security, privacy, and compliance.

• Rokt raised $USD325 Million Series E funding led by Tiger Global, raising our total valuation to $USD1.95 billion and turning us into an official unicorn. Cheddar TV spoke to Bruce Buchanan about Rokt’s funding and upcoming IPO. Watch the interview here.

We could not have done any of this without our clients and our incredibly dedicated group of Rokt’stars. A big thank you to all who joined us on this journey as we continue to help ecommerce businesses seize the Transaction Moment.  In 2021, we’ve continued  to create community, invest in our teams and most of all find solutions relevant to businesses like you. The next year brings us broader horizons and a new chapter waiting to be written…