Mavi.io today announced that it has launched its MAVI in-car commerce offering and secured a $1.775 million investment from an affiliate of the Jay Schottenstein family and a group of angel investors that includes former Amazon executives and other retail leaders. The company also announced that its MAVI OnMyWay solution, which brings safe, easy, curated shopping to the dashboard of consumers’ favorite connected cars, will be available via the HARMAN Ignite Store connected vehicle platform beginning in mid-2022 in vehicles equipped with HARMAN Ignite. In addition, the company announced retail brand pilots with innovation partners BurgerFi and Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza & Wings, with more partnerships to be announced in the second quarter.
MAVI facilitates convenient OnMyWay commerce in any 4G-integrated vehicle that allows payments, connecting the car’s interface and data to retailers’ and service providers’ e-commerce platforms, while taking into account inventory as well as the driver’s location, route, destination, order and payment preferences, and loyalty program memberships. MAVI will initially be available through the HARMAN Ignite Store, the leading connected driving platform in the market, which ensures applications are tailored specifically for the vehicle experience through additional security, safety, privacy and driver distraction guidelines.
Drivers can use MAVI to request that their connected cars recommend, order, pay for and coordinate pickup of coffee, meals, groceries and need-it-now items like phone chargers, flowers and personal care products. In addition, they can use MAVI to coordinate with service providers like dry cleaners and parking garages, so they can make fewer trips and get what they need whenever and wherever they’re driving.
“Drivers love the convenience of curbside pickup and they want to be able to shop from their cars safely and efficiently in order to make the most of each trip,” says Cynthia Hollen, CEO and co-founder of Mavi.io. “MAVI gives consumers a safe and easy way to shop from the driver’s seat, whether it’s for something they need en route, like coffee, a snack or gas; something they’ll need when they arrive at their destination, like a phone charger or a parking spot; or groceries or a pizza to take home for dinner. For retailers and service providers, MAVI’s in-car marketplace brings customers back to their store doors and drives new customer acquisition, sales and loyalty, ensuring they can meet their on-the-go customers’ needs for immediacy and convenience.”
READ MORE: BurgerFi to Pioneer In-Car Ordering Channel
Other angel investors in Mavi.io’s seed round included James Thomson, Chief Strategy Officer at Buy Box Experts and former Head of Business for Selling on Amazon; Thomas Plaster, a former Principal Product Manager and Senior Business Development Manager at Amazon; Debbie Kiederer, Founder and Principal of ChalkDust Consulting and President of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization of NY; and Double S Group, a South Florida technology investment group.
“We built the HARMAN Ignite Store to give developers more freedom to bring innovation into the connected car experience so consumers can access everything they need on the road from their dashboards—from in-car shopping capabilities and music to entertainment and safety solutions,” said Naoki Ogishi, Director of Product Management, HARMAN Ignite Store. “We’re thrilled to partner with the MAVI team, which has deep experience in e-commerce marketplaces and retail operations excellence, to give drivers a frictionless way to shop through their dashboard, whether by voice or touchscreen.”
In December 2021, BurgerFi, one of the nation’s fastest-growing, premium fast-casual concepts, announced that it will be MAVI’s restaurant innovation partner and will be the first restaurant to launch in-car ordering in partnership with MAVI as part of its commitment to providing the best restaurant guest experience. Customers of BurgerFi and Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza & Wings, also owned by BurgerFi, will be able to order from their vehicle using either voice commands or their car’s interactive dashboard. The MAVI technology will instantly identify the best restaurant location to order from based on the driver’s destination, help them order and pay, and notify the restaurant when they arrive, so their fresh meal can be delivered curbside right away. In 2021, BurgerFi was voted the top better-burger fast casual chain in USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice survey. Food entrepreneur Martha Stewart serves on the BurgerFi board of directors and chairs the board’s Product and Innovation Committee.
MAVI facilitates OnMyWay™ commerce by calculating the optimal location to order from, based on a driver’s route, destination and timing as well as a store’s or restaurant’s current inventory. The technology facilitates hands-free or dashboard ordering and payment using the driver’s preprogrammed information, and then coordinates all logistics, telling the driver exactly where to park to pick up curbside and ensuring staff can prepare and bring the order out to the driver’s car right on time. By facilitating instant in-car commerce, MAVI provides consumers with a more sustainable way to shop, helping reduce the number of trips drivers need to make and eliminating the added traffic congestion, packaging and fuel associated with at-home deliveries from stores that shoppers are already driving past.
