We help you sell moreRequest a Free Quote4-Tell built a recommendation engine for independent online stores, and MAK Digital has worked with it since 2016. Searchspring acquired 4-Tell in 2020, and Searchspring is now Athos Commerce. This page explains what that means for a store that runs 4-Tell and how we set up product recommendations today.
Technology partner
MAK Digital is a partner of Searchspring, now Athos Commerce, and of the other vendors named on this page, and may benefit when a client chooses one of them. We recommend the engine that fits the store.
Last reviewed .
Searchspring announced on August 5, 2020 that it had acquired 4-Tell, to add the technology to its own personalization features. In January 2025 Searchspring joined with Klevu and Intelligent Reach under a new name, Athos Commerce. The 4-Tell website now sends new customers there.
If your store still runs 4-Tell, the 4-Tell site continues to give existing customers a merchant login and a support number (checked October 2026). 4-Tell is no longer sold as a separate product, though, so your next redesign or platform move is a sensible moment to move recommendations to a current engine. We can handle both in one project.
The idea
A recommendation engine watches what shoppers view and buy and uses the pattern to suggest products: "customers also bought" on a product page, a last-minute add-on in the cart, a few picks in an email. 4-Tell's engine, first developed in 2009, did this for independent stores. It took the store's data, learned from shopper behavior, and served recommendations on the site and in email, with a dashboard for promoting, excluding, and filtering what appeared.
When we announced the partnership in 2016, our example was DormCo: a "Customers Also Bought" row under the shipping details on each product page, and a "Customers Also Viewed" row under the description.
In an analysis of its own customers in 2013, 4-Tell reported 19% more products viewed, an 18.3% increase in conversion, and a 17.1% increase in revenue. Those are a vendor's historical figures. What a store gains depends on its catalog, its traffic, and where the recommendations are placed.
Where they go
The engine matters less than the placement. These are the six spots we set up most often.
"Customers also bought" and "similar items" keep a shopper moving when the first product is not quite right, and raise the order value when it is.
The small things that complete an order: the cable for the device, the filter for the pump. One row, chosen carefully, without slowing the path to payment.
"Recommended for you" and "trending now" rows give returning visitors a homepage that reflects what they looked at last time.
A search that finds nothing is a dead end unless it offers something close. Recommendations turn that page into a second chance.
Recommendations in cart reminders and post-purchase emails, driven by the same data. See our Klaviyo partner page for the email side.
You decide what is promoted, excluded, and filtered: no out-of-stock items, no competing brands on a brand page, margin where you want it.
What we do
Whether you are leaving 4-Tell or adding recommendations for the first time, the work is the same six jobs.
We compare engines against your platform, catalog size, and budget: Searchspring, now Athos Commerce, Fast Simon, Algolia, Searchanise, and others we work with.
We list every 4-Tell widget on the store, keep the placements that earn orders, rebuild them on the new engine, and remove the old scripts so they stop costing page speed.
The engine needs your catalog, your order history, and tracking on the storefront before it can learn. We connect all three and confirm the data is arriving.
Rows are styled to match the theme, sized so the page does not jump as they load, and built to swipe on a phone. This is part of our eCommerce UX work.
We set the exclusions, pins, and category logic with you, so the engine works inside your merchandising decisions.
We report clicks and orders by placement, test where the engine allows it, and remove rows that do not earn their space.
Timeline
The short history, with where each fact comes from.
| When | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | The personalization engine behind 4-Tell is developed | Searchspring press release, August 2020 |
| March 2016 | MAK Digital announces its partnership with 4-Tell | Our blog |
| August 5, 2020 | Searchspring announces the acquisition of 4-Tell | Business Wire |
| January 2025 | Searchspring and Klevu join forces as Athos Commerce, with Intelligent Reach | Athos Commerce |
| October 2026 | 4-tell.com sends new customers to Searchspring and keeps a login for existing merchants | 4-tell.com |
Checklist
Nothing here is urgent. It is the preparation that makes a later move quick.
How it runs
The same steps for a first installation and for a move from 4-Tell.
We look at what is on the store now, what data is available, and where shoppers leave without finding a second product.
We recommend an engine for your platform and catalog, and agree the placements and rules.
We connect the data, build and style each row, and test on phones and desktops.
We report on each placement, adjust the rules, and remove what does not perform.
For stores that used 4-Tell, and for stores choosing a recommendation engine now.
Not as a separate product. Searchspring acquired 4-Tell in August 2020, and the 4-Tell website now directs new customers to Searchspring, which became Athos Commerce in January 2025. Recommendations are part of the Athos Commerce personalization product.
As of October 2026 the 4-Tell site still offers existing customers a merchant login and a support number. For the product's future, ask Athos Commerce directly. Our advice is to prepare: list where your recommendations appear and which ones earn orders, and move them to a current engine at your next redesign or platform migration.
Searchspring acquired 4-Tell to add its technology to Searchspring's own personalization features, and Searchspring is now Athos Commerce. Its platform covers site search, personalization, merchandising, and product feed management. See our Searchspring partner page.
They help shoppers find a second product, and help the first-time visitor who landed on the wrong one. 4-Tell reported, from a 2013 analysis of its customers, 19% more products viewed, an 18.3% increase in conversion, and a 17.1% increase in revenue. Those are a vendor's figures from that time. Results depend on your catalog, traffic, and placement, which is why we measure each row.
It depends on the platform, the size of the catalog, and whether you also need site search and merchandising from the same tool. We work with Athos Commerce (Searchspring), Fast Simon, Algolia, and Searchanise, among others, and choose with you after reviewing the store.
Yes, and it is the best time, because every template is being rebuilt anyway. We carry over the placements that perform, set the rules again on the new engine, and remove the old scripts. See BigCommerce development or request a quote.
Tell us your platform and what is on the store today. We will tell you which engine we would use, where we would place it, and what a move would involve.
From the eCommerce Experts
Today, we our proud to announce our new “partnership” with 4Tell Boost Recommendations! 4Tell Boost is a company that specializes in recommending…
Read More: 4Tell Boost Recommendations – Boost Your Sales Today!Pages built only to earn search rankings and clicks are no longer structured enough for every search surface. In AI-era discovery, the…
Read More: Answer-First Content Structure: Writing Pages That Win AI CitationsTraditional eCommerce SEO is still the foundation: crawlable pages, useful content, clean internal links, and strong search rankings all matter. But Shopify…
Read More: GEO for Shopify Stores: Platform-Specific Steps to Get Cited by AIChoosing MAKDigital means partnering with a team of experienced professionals dedicated to your success. We offer tailored solutions, expert advice, and a commitment to delivering exceptional results. Our focus on innovation and customer satisfaction sets us apart in the eCommerce industry.
Twice a month: what changed in Google and AI search, what it means for your store, and exactly what to do about it. Written by the people who build and rank stores for a living.
First issue lands within two weeks. Check your inbox for a hello from us in the meantime.
