Mobile shopping app Tophatter has raised $21 million in new funding and has been profitable for 2 consecutive years. The company, which has over 12 million shoppers, combines personalization and gamification and is on track to see $350 million in annual gross merchandise volume through its sellers. The company press release follows:
Tophatter Inc pulled back the curtain to reveal its steady ascent within a highly competitive ecommerce field. The company disclosed that it expects to achieve $350M of gross merchandise volume (GMV) in 2017, more than double the $160M it recorded in 2016. In addition, the company also shared that it has been profitable since 2015, demonstrating it has been able to achieve impressive growth with a disciplined approach.
“People come to Tophatter to shop in the same way they used to go to the shopping mall to discover new products. The internet has made buying products you already know you want much more efficient, but no one has truly innovated shopping in a way that effectively replaces the retail experience,” said Ashvin Kumar, co-founder and CEO of Tophatter Inc. “That’s our focus. We are the anti-Amazon.”
Tophatter Inc powers discovery shopping experiences uniquely tailored for the mobile era. Its flagship app connects buyers and sellers around the world in real-time auctions that are both fast and effective. The platform processes millions of data points to personalize the retail experience for every shopper. The company shared eye-popping engagement metrics that validate its approach to product development. Over 85% of items are sold. Over 15% of daily visitors make a purchase.
“We have the engagement of a game, and the economics of a marketplace,” the CEO explained. “This is modern retail.”
The company has raised a total of $35M to date, with global consumer tech investor Goodwater Capital leading the Series B. Goodwater joins earlier investors August Capital and Charles River Ventures who also participated in the round. Tophatter Inc is developing a global footprint with offices in Silicon Valley and Shanghai, China.
“The first wave of ecommerce was all about making the retail experience more efficient, as exemplified by Amazon and others”, said Eric Kim, co-founder and Managing Partner of Goodwater Capital. “The next wave of innovation is in solving the problem of discovery, which is a much larger opportunity. Retail represents a $25 trillion segment of the global economy that is in the early stages of massive upheaval. Tophatter is scaling rapidly and building a platform that absorbs a tremendous amount of data – they are poised to be a long term winner.”
Source: Tophatter press release
