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Shipment tracking platform Malomo today announced it has raised $5 million in seed funding. The company says it will use the capital to make strategic hires, develop new big data tools, and broaden international carrier supports while expanding its customer base. Malomo says the funds will also enable it to integrate its product with marketing automation platform Klaviyo to give merchants greater control over their post-purchase experience.
While year-over-year consumer spending in the U.S. dipped last month, the pandemic has on the whole supercharged ecommerce. According to data from IBM’s U.S. Retail Index, business closures and shelter-in-place orders accelerated the shift to digital shopping by five years, with online shopping projected to have grown nearly 20% in 2020. Based on the survey data from BMC and Mercatus, ecommerce grocery orders alone totaled $5.9 billion, up 3.6% from $5.7 billion in August.
Indianapolis, Indiana-based Malomo, which was founded in 2018, uses shipment tracking technology to drive repeat sales. Using its solution, retailers can share shipping updates with buyers via webpages, app notifications, and emails. When customers check their order tracking, they’re treated to products, ads, and other content Malomo serves to spur additional purchases.
Driving repeat purchases remains a challenge for retailers in the exploding ecommerce space. It’s estimated that 73% of first-time purchasers won’t make a second purchase from the same online seller. But according to Malomo CEO Yaw Aning, delivery experiences can have a major impact on sentiment. Ninety-six percent of respondents to a MyCustomer survey said a positive shipment experience would encourage them to shop with a retailer again.
“The number one question for the billions of people that buy things online is ‘Where is my order?’” Aning said in a press release. “While Amazon spends billions of dollars on [its] post-purchase experience to ease customer anxiety around that question, independent retailers who sell their products directly through their own website to consumers don’t have the same resources to compete. We level the playing field by helping retailers own the customer experience from the buy button all the way to the doorstep and beyond. We help them activate post-purchase as a channel to drive growth, retention, and trust with their fans.”
Malomo says on average its clients see support tickets cut in half and a 2% to 3% increase in repeat purchase rate. Customer Grace Eleyae says its click rate climbed 18.7% from its tracking pages, and repeat purchases through its emails and pages were up 8 times.
“When COVID forced small businesses to rely entirely on online sales, it became challenging for merchants to maintain meaningful customer relationships that build trust,” said Base10 Partners’ Chris Zeoli, a Malomo investor. “Malomo’s transparent and proactive post-purchase shipment tracking platform absolutely delights customers throughout the purchase and delivery experience and is a no-brainer return on investment for merchants looking to acquire and retain customers.”
Beyond Base10, participants in Malomo’s funding round included existing investors Harlem Capital, High Alpha, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Paul Singh, and new strategic investors The Vaan Group, CX Collective, Curtis Cheng, Jeremy Cai, and Alexandre Perrier. The company’s total raised now stands at over $8 million.
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