Citymall, a group-buying platform that brings individuals together to make large purchases at discounted costs, has raised $75 million in Series C funding led by Norwest Venture Partners.
In addition to General Catalyst, Citius, Jungle Ventures, Arena Ventures, Elevation, Accel, and Waterbridge, the round included General Catalyst, Citius, Jungle Ventures, Arena Ventures, Elevation, Accel, and WaterbriThrough its network of community leaders who serve as both marketing and logistics partners for the company, Citymall provides access to internet commerce to these eCommerce-dark communities..refounded Citymall in 2019 to bring e-commerce to Indian communities. Because direct-to-consumer supply chains are not practical for low-ticket size consumers in remote towns and cities, the company is focusing on the 500 million new-to-internet users in these areas, where traditional e-commerce has failed to penetrate.
Through its network of community leaders who serve as both marketing and logistics partners for the company, Citymall provides access to internet commerce to these eCommerce-dark communities. To qualify for discounts, community leaders use a commission-based technique in which they recruit friends and family members to form a shopping team.
Over the previous 18 months, the company has experienced rapid growth, increasing by over 30% month on month while providing entrepreneurship chances to over 30,000 community leaders in 25 towns and cities. Around 80% of Citymall’s users have never done business on an e-commerce platform. On average, ten customers place an order with a community leader, and this number is rising.
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Buying patterns in India’s rural towns rely heavily on offline assistance and social proof. These purchases also have ticket sizes that are 1/3rd of what we have in metro cities. “Citymall’s Community Leaders not only assist first-time e-commerce customers with their purchases, but they also act as demand aggregation centers, resulting in an exceptionally efficient supply chain that can accommodate low ticket sizes,” said Angad Kikla, Citymall’s co-founder.
Over the next 18 months, Citymall plans to use the extra money to enhance its leadership and engineering teams, offer new categories, extend its supply chain, and expand its reach to 100 towns.
