How Cdiscount Scaled Smarter Merchandising with Fredhopper & Advanced Recommendations (XO)

With over 23 million monthly visitors and 100 million offers in their marketplace, French eCommerce leader Cdiscount faced a massive challenge: deliver relevant, personalized product experiences—at scale—without overloading their data team. With Fredhopper's Advanced Recommendations (XO), they unlocked true algorithm orchestration, giving their merchandisers the control they needed, while accelerating testing, personalization, and results.

A warehouse with tall shelves stacked with boxes; two workers maneuvering equipment among the aisles. A 'Cdiscount' banner is visible.

The Challenge

Cdiscount’s catalog had exploded, and so had their ambition. While they had a capable internal data team, the demands of a growing marketplace quickly outpaced their ability to segment offers, personalize recommendations, and execute merchandising strategies at speed. They needed a solution that could:

Handle massive data volumes in real time
Orchestrate both proprietary and third-party algorithms
Let merchandising teams act without relying on developers or data scientists

The Solution

Break Free from Silos

They needed a way to deliver personalized experiences at scale—without relying on data scientists for every update. By decoupling data processing from front-end delivery, they gained the flexibility to innovate faster and meet the needs of a growing product catalog.

Move Faster, Market Smarter

They were able to launch new merchandising strategies quickly and test multiple algorithms in parallel. This allowed them to optimise customer journeys in real time and boost conversion rates across their marketplace.

Reduce IT Dependency

Thanks to Fredhoppers’s intuitive tools and algorithm orchestration, their merchandising team could manage and fine-tune recommendations on their own—without constantly tapping into technical resources.

Future-Proof Their Tech Stack

With a microservices-based, decoupled approach, they integrated seamlessly with existing systems and scaled their strategy across markets. They’re now equipped to adapt to new channels, tools, and customer behaviours with ease.

A laptop displays the Cdiscount website celebrating 25 years, alongside a smartphone showing a HITWAY electric scooter with a promotional price.

The Results

+3% conversion rate through better journey modeling on search and PLPs

Higher average order values via complementary product strategies

Days of work reduced to hours with merchandiser-owned rule control

Accelerated R&D with industrialized A/B testing and algorithm hybridization

Fredhopper’s orchestration also allowed Cdiscount to personalize the 20% of products driving 80% of revenue, while improving discoverability and visibility of long-tail inventory.

Conclusion

Fredhopper and Advanced Recommendations (XO) gave Cdiscount the agility to test, iterate, and scale personalization across their vast catalog—without sacrificing performance or control. The result? A platform that empowers merchandisers, accelerates innovation, and delivers measurable impact.