SoftBank-backed unicorn CommerceIQ has chalked out a three-pronged growth strategy which will see the e-commerce management platform foray into newer geographies, launch new modules and develop customised solutions for retail e-commerce giants.
“We are very acquisitive right now. Looking at companies in India and across the globe,” Guru Hariharan, founder and CEO of CommerceIQ told businessline in Chennai recently.
Started in 2019 by Hariharan, a former Amazon executive, the California and Bengaluru based SaaS company uses machine learning and analytics to help consumer brands automate their e-commerce sales and marketing on retail channels such as Amazon, Walmart.com, and Instacart. The platform helps 4,000 global consumer brands including Kellogg’s, Bayer, Colgate Palmolive and Nestle to sell through 440 retailers across 45 countries.
CommerceIQ has four modules: e-commerce sales management, retail media management, profit recovery and digital shelf management that helps brands manage their marketing, sales, finance and supply chain operations under one common platform.
New markets
At present, the United States contributes 70 per cent of its revenue while Europe accounts for the major chunk of the remaining 30 per cent, followed by Latin America and Asia.
Hariharan said the company has recently hired a vice president for international sales to focus on geographical expansion. He added that while global brands like Colgate and Kimberly-Clark are already using its solution including in India, the company will start direct sales efforts to bring onboard more brands.
In March 2022, CommerceIQ raised $115 Million in Series D funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 for an unicorn valuation. (A unicorn is a privately held company valued at $1 billion or more.) It was followed by two acquisitions: UK-based e.fundamentals (a digital shelf analytics provider) and Ideoclick (e-commerce technology company).
CommerceIQ currently employs 252 people in India, 125 in the US and 70 in the UK. Hariharan said the company’s headcount will grow by 40-50 per cent in the next one year both organically and through acquisition.
Pegging the retail ecommerce market at $184 billion, Hariharan said the business is growing at 15-16 per cent CAGR and that it will sustain even in the eventuality of a recession.