Ecommerce platform Tictail just raised $22 million. If you hadn’t heard of the company before, it’s likely because the Swedish-based company is more popular in Europe.
The company describes itself as a “free-to-use DIY ecommerce platform that enables independent brands to set up an online store in minutes, and a destination for discerning shoppers looking for their new favorite brands.” In other words, it’s both a store-hosting site and a marketplace – the latter a help in driving sales.
Some of its distinguishing features are its focus on small sellers, the focus on brand-building, and its emphasis on mobile. Merchants can start their Tictail store directly on mobile, and 55% of Tictail sales take place on mobile devices, a spokesperson told EcommerceBytes.
“To date there has been no platform where true creatives (aka entrepreneurs with no tech background) could easily create an online store,” she wrote in an email. “Tictail helps with everything from helping a store owner create their own unique store URL, facilitating with email newsletters, Facebook ads, customer acquisition and retention, shipping, pricing conversions. Everything. Tictail wants to be the extra arm for a growing brand.”
The Tictail mobile shopping marketplace has over 2 million products from 85,000 sellers (or “brands,” as it likes to say).
Sellers come from across 140 countries worldwide with the most popular regions being Sweden, UK, France, and Germany. “The US is our fastest growing market,” according to Tictail’s spokesperson. “Last year we opened an office in NYC and have since seen a huge increased in both shoppers and retailers based here in NYC. This is thanks to word of mouth, events, and other fun local marketing activations.”
The Series B funding in the 3-year-old company was led by existing investors Creandum (Stockholm, Sweden,), Thrive Capital (New York, NY,) Balderton Capital (London, UK,) and Acton Capital (Munich, Germany), bringing the total amount raised to $32 million.
“Tictail is looking forward to leveraging this round to enhance its mobile marketplace, further its global expansion, and solidify its mission of being the smartest ecommerce platform for the small business owner.”
