Q&A: Bernd Maehrlein, VP of EMEA, Constructor
Bernd Maehrlein is VP of EMEA at Constructor, a leading ecommerce search and product discovery platform. With deep expertise in regional and global ecommerce trends, he drives Constructor’s go-to-market strategy across EMEA.
Can you tell us a bit about your background?
EMEA – and the UK, in particular – are really important markets for Constructor. Many of our employees and customers are based here, and we’re seeing strong momentum as we help ecommerce companies improve product discovery and grow their revenues and profits.
As VP of EMEA, I develop and lead our go-to-market strategy in the region. It’s a role I’m passionate about, having supported multiple startups in expanding across Europe. Before Constructor, I built the local businesses for cloud and cybersecurity companies like Lacework, Cybereason and MongoDB, after holding sales and sales leadership roles at Intralinks and SAP.
Outside of work, I grew up playing competitive rugby, and my family and kids’ sports activities keep me busy.
What does Constructor do? / What is your USP?
Constructor provides an AI-based platform for ecommerce search and product discovery. In other words, we make it easy and enjoyable for shoppers on ecommerce sites to find the items they truly want to purchase.
We work with retailers in the UK — such as The Very Group, Monica Vinader, White Stuff, Ebuyer and Cromwell Tools — and around the world, including Sephora, Under Armour and Target Australia. They use Constructor to drive personalisation across the shopper journey — in search results, browse experiences, product recommendations, landing pages, product-finder quizzes, our AI Shopping Assistant and more.
Crucially, our platform lets retailers simultaneously optimise experiences to prioritise the metrics that matter to them: whether that’s conversions, high-margin products, inventory-balancing, or other key performance indicators they uniquely define.
The result? A better customer experience that drives more revenue.
What’s special about the platform and your approach? What advantage does it add?
Too often, when shoppers search and browse on retail sites, the products they see aren’t really what they’re looking for. In fact, we ran a study and found that for more than 1/3 of UK shoppers (34%), when they shop on their favourite retailer’s site, that site treats them like a total stranger. That’s frustrating — and it shouldn’t be the norm.
Unlike other technologies — which are often general-purpose and keyword-based — Constructor shows shoppers the products they actually want to buy.
Our AI makes this happen by processing “clickstream” behavioural data. That is: What did a given shopper click on, on the retail site? Spend the most active time viewing? Add-to-cart? Purchase? And so on.
We combine this with other retail data streams to get an accurate picture of each shopper’s interests and intent. So, for example, if someone searches for “shirts,” we’re not showing them just any shirts — but ones in their preferred colours, styles, brand, size and price point.
Constructor is also unique in being built with AI at the core, not bolted on after-the-fact. And because we focus exclusively on ecommerce, we’re designed to handle ecommerce-specific demands: related to metrics, traffic, product catalogue complexities, and so on.
We’re also committed to tapping into advanced technologies, like generative AI (GenAI), in ways that drive measurable value. One example: our award-winning AI Shopping Assistant, a conversational product discovery tool embedded in ecommerce search bars. It understands full-sentence queries like, “I’m going camping with my pre-teens for the first time at Hollands Woods next week. What do we need?”
Finally, Constructor’s platform is always learning. We power hundreds of millions of personalised experiences each day, continuously refining recommendations based on shoppers’ interactions. Every click, browse, purchase (etc.) helps improve the next recommendation shoppers see, so we’re continually enhancing their journey.
What does a Constructor implementation look like, and how do you measure success?
Implementation is straightforward, and value is typically realised within weeks. We work with our customers’ teams closely to ensure that Constructor is well integrated with their current environment. Ultimately though, we measure success by looking at key ecommerce metrics pre- and post-Constructor — how the technology impacts conversions, basket size, add-to-cart rate, revenue, etc. We also work with our customers to continue to maximise our technology’s impact via continuous optimisation plans and A/B testing experiences to make sure their performance continues to increase.
Even for retailers who aren’t customers, they can see how Constructor impacts their goals, free of charge and risk free. At their request, we’ll run what we call a “proof schedule” and collect clickstream data on their site to show how our algorithms would improve site experiences — showing expected returns if the solution were live.
How are retailers using your systems to gain competitive advantage? Can you share a case study with us?
Retailers use Constructor to keep shoppers engaged, build loyalty and increase revenue. Customers have reported results including: 16.5% increase in average order value, 15% increase in revenue per visit, 13% increase in search revenue, 92% increase in recommendations conversions, and more.
Yes, we have lots of case studies — one example is with White Stuff. They’re using Constructor to dynamically personalise search results, browse experiences and landing pages. Our insights on trending searches also helped them adjust Christmas campaign timing — they saw shoppers were searching for Christmas items earlier than expected, so rolled things out sooner. Since using Constructor, White Stuff has seen:
- 21% lift in search conversion rates
- 25% increase in search transactions
- 8% increase in average order value
At the end of the day, it’s about helping shoppers find what they actually want — while giving retailers a real business advantage.
Retail media — that is, advertising opportunities on a retailer’s properties, like their website or mobile app — is a hot space right now. What challenges do retailers and brands face in matching the right shopper with the right ad?
Yes, the space is booming! In the UK alone, for instance, retail media ad spend is projected to surpass £4.4 billion this year.
But retailers and advertisers face some challenges, as they seek to maximise ad revenue by connecting the right shoppers with the right ads. Take sponsored listings in search results: Too often, the products shown to shoppers are generic and impersonal. For example, if a male shopper searches for “black formal shoes” on a department store site, and sponsored listings show women’s heels when the shopper expects men’s Oxfords — then everyone loses out: the shopper, the retailer, and the advertiser paying for the listing.
Shoppers also often have a disjointed experience — where the organic results they see and the sponsored listings aren’t really in sync. This happens because organic and sponsored results are typically generated by separate systems that don’t talk to each other.
So, there’s an opportunity to do better.
Can you tell us about Constructor’s new Retail Media Suite, including Sponsored Listings, and how it addresses these challenges?
We’re incredibly excited about this new offering and how it directly addresses the pain points above. For many years, Constructor has shown shoppers the best organic results in search, browse, recommendations and more. Now, we’re applying our personalisation and product-ranking expertise and algorithms to sponsored listings, too.
What’s unique and groundbreaking about our Retail Media Suite is that we optimise organic and sponsored listings together. This means we can instantly determine whether to show an ad or organic result in a given slot, based on what will best support ecommerce metrics. And we only surface helpful, hyper-personalised ads — so, shoppers get a more useful, tailored experience; advertisers target an audience with a higher purchasing intent; and retailers increase revenue from shoppers and advertising partners alike.
We just recently announced this offering. You can see more details — including initial results from our customer home24, who’s projecting a seven-figure increase in ad revenue this year, without sacrificing organic revenue — in this announcement.
What are some companies Constructor partners with?
We partner with leading organisations whose technologies, services and capabilities complement our own, including Akeneo, AWS, Commercetools, Contentstack and Shopify, to name a few. Some leading system integrators we partner with, who operate in the UK and globally, include Apply Digital, Deloitte Digital, EPAM, Cabiri, The Pixel and IONA.
What challenges and opportunities do you see in UK retail for 2025?
For UK ecommerce in 2025, we observe different challenges and opportunities. Rising customer expectations will push retailers to deliver faster, more seamless experiences, which can be tough to scale without the right technology. Intense competition, especially from global players, means standing out will continue to get harder. And economic pressures — with consumers still feeling the pinch — could limit spending and squeeze margins.
On the flip side, there are exciting opportunities. Seasonal and event-driven sales, like for Christmas and Black Friday, offer a chance to boost revenue with targeted campaigns. The ability to execute on this in a targeted and agile way really matters. Omnichannel commerce — blending online and offline experiences, like with click-and-collect — can meet customers where they are and drive loyalty.
And AI and personalisation — by focusing on what customers truly want to buy and tailoring experiences throughout their journey — can deliver higher conversion rates and AOV, and meaningful revenue increases. Our study of UK shoppers showed 64% want better personalisation in their product discovery experiences. In addition, 63% would “definitely” or “probably” be willing to engage with AI shopping assistants to help when they’re unsure what to buy.
For retailers, it’s all about balancing some of the pressures felt with a focus on customer experience and strategic innovation with quick ROI.
How will you address these challenges and turn them into successes?
Our technology and continued focus on innovation help retailers meet product-discovery challenges, delight their customers, and stay future-ready. Using our platform, retailers can expose shoppers to products they’ll love; improve the success of campaigns; and create helpful, revenue-generating and differentiating experiences throughout the shopper journey.
And as retail media becomes increasingly strategic, our Retail Media Suite, as I mentioned, fills a gap: so retailers can deliver personalised ads that learn from shopper interactions and complement (rather than compete with) organic placements.
What is on the horizon for you as a company?
We’re always focused on what’s next and what we can do to help retailers even better succeed. There are terrific opportunities to do that with cutting-edge technology like GenAI — but it’s really important to us that innovations aren’t just flashy; they have to deliver real, measurable value.
I’d talked earlier about our AI Shopping Assistant, the conversational product discovery tool that supports natural language, full-sentence search — providing results that make sense, are in-stock, and are personalised. That’s a great example of value through GenAI: Our users have seen results including a 10% increase in website revenue, 6% increase in search conversions, 7% increase in clicks and more. As these types of assistants become more pervasive — like Amazon’s Rufus and Walmart’s AI shopping agent — and shoppers become more familiar with using them too, we expect demand for Constructor’s solution to continue to grow.
As we move forward, our steadfast focus is delivering innovations that bring tangible value to retailers and their shoppers alike. Our customers’ success is our main priority.
Any final thoughts?
Thank you so much for having me here!
If readers have any questions or would like to connect, please reach out to me on LinkedIn. They can also request a demo through Constructor.com.
