Retail technology startup Swiftly closes $100M funding round at $1B+ valuation
Startup Swiftly Systems Inc., which develops software tools that retailers use to increase sales, today announced that it has secured a $100 million funding round led by BRV Capital Management.
The Series C round comes six months after Swiftly secured another $100 million investment. The startup, which has raised a total of $210 million to date, is now reportedly valued at between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion.
Seattle-based Swiftly sells a suite of software tools that retailers use to increase the revenue generated by their online stores. With the startup’s tools, a retailer can enable brands to place product ads in its e-commerce website and apps. Swiftly uses machine learning algorithms to deliver ads to shoppers in a way that increases the probability of a sale.
The company provides analytics dashboards that enable brands to track the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns. Brands can measure the number of consumers who interact with their ads, the revenue contribution of an ad campaign and the days when the campaign generated the most sales. Swiftly also provides access to a range of related metrics.
Advertising can be a potentially significant revenue source for online retailers. Amazon.com Inc. last quarter generated $8.76 billion in revenue from its advertising business, which enables companies to deliver ads to shoppers who visit the company’s e-commerce marketplace.
In addition to optimizing the ads that a retailer delivers to users of its online store, Swiftly promises to optimize the store itself. The startup provides tools that retailers can use to implement rewards programs as well as offer discounts. Moreover, its tools promise to ease the task of providing curbside pickup and home delivery options.
A retailer can also use Swiftly’s software to create a mobile version of its online store. According to the startup, its software reduces the amount of custom code necessary to implement features such as shopping lists. As a result, companies can roll out new capabilities to their shopping apps faster.
“Our mission is to empower brick-and-mortar retailers to move from analog to algorithms, as winners in this new era of commerce will be determined by how fast they can reinvent their business to capture shoppers digitally and monetize those digital relationships,” said co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Henry Kim.
Swiftly says its tools can help retailers significantly improve sales. According to the startup, retailers can increase store visits by as much as 40% while also growing the number and value of purchases that customers make. In some cases, it adds, its tools are capable of growing annual customer spending by as much as 51%.
The company positions its tools as a way for brick-and-mortar retailers to more effectively compete with major e-commerce companies. Such companies often build custom software to enhance their online stores, which is not always practical for market players with more limited in-house technical resources.
Swiftly’s software is used by major consumer brands such as Hershey Co. and Colgate-Palmolive Co. The startup plans to increase the number of brands in its customer base following its latest round by expanding into more markets. In parallel, it plans to roll out new capabilities to its suite of e-commerce tools.
Image: Pixabay
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