What Makes This Jaipur-based E-commerce Start-up Different? Having raised funding of $11 million, the company expects to expand to 100 cities across 10 states and reach the underserved strata in the e-retail space.
By Debroop Roy
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E-commerce start-up DealShare has raised $11 million across Series A and seed rounds, the company said in a statement on Thursday. The investments were led by Matrix Partners India and Falcon Edge Capital while the likes of DST Global, Omidyar Network India also participated in the rounds.
Founded in September last year, the company—which operates in the e-retail space in tier II and III Indian cities—has quietly made its mark in the niche segment it serves, with over 500,000 app downloads on Google Play Store.
The company said it plans to use the funds for expansion into more cities, develop artificial intelligence-based solutions and its own logistical network.
Focus on Niche, Underserved Strata
DealShare capitalizes on the average consumer in cities it operates who is still getting used to using the Internet for the purposes of commerce. For these customers, big-pocketed sellers such as Flipkart and Amazon may not be ideal options just yet.
"It is still day zero for e-commerce in India. The DealShare team has (a) deep understanding of consumer buying behavior and a unique model that caters to the largest chunk of consumers in India, middle- and lower-income households," Tarun Davda, Matrix' managing director, said in the statement.
Sharing Model
Currently operating in 10 cities across Gujarat and Rajasthan, the company offers deep discounts on most products. Customers can avail bigger discounts if they engage in group buying with friends and family.
The Jaipur-based start-up procures most of its offering from local manufacturers and suppliers, it said.
"DealShare brings together a focused assortment that is differentially procured. This, when coupled with the delight of discovery and a gamified shopping experience, drives robust repeat usage and cohort behavior," said Navroz D. Udwadia, co-founder and partner at Falcon Edge.
Expansion Plans
The company said it would expand to Maharashtra by end of October and add to the 300,000 customers that it currently serves.
"We are in the process of creating the biggest e-commerce story of India," DealShare's chief executive officer Vineet Rao said, adding that the first wave of e-commerce touched the top cities, leaving the ones in tier II and tier III cities behind.
"DealShare solves this unique problem through its app where users are able to consolidate the buying requirement among their friends and relatives and place orders on the app. This, in turn, enables us to do a backward integration with suppliers and manufacturers for sourcing at the best rates," Rao said.
The start-up also said it would expand to 100 cities over 10 states in the next 12 months.
