Social commerce – the process of buying and selling products or services directly through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok – is becoming the most natural way for consumers to make purchases as people use social media and messaging almost every day. use apps.
SleekFlow, an omnichannel social commerce platform that helps businesses automate customer flow from messaging and live video to transactions, has secured an $8 million Series A financing led by Tiger Global Management. Transcend Capital and AEF Greater Bay Area Fund, managed by Gobi Partners GBA, also participated in the round.
“Consumers now spend 80 percent of their time on social platforms, and it’s already a habit to discover and buy products directly here,” said SleekFlow Founder and CEO Henson Tsai† “SleekFlow aims to drive this e-commerce revolution by being the premier unified hub for social commerce – merging conversations, product catalogs, payment solutions and order management into one for businesses.”
Image Credits: SleekFlow
Founded in 2019, SleekFlow now serves more than 5,000 companies worldwide, including NARS Cosmetics, Bossini, Lalamove Hong Kong and PSB Academy. The company claims it saw revenue growth of about 500% following its recent pre-Series A financing backed by the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund (AHKEF) in May 2021. (SleekFlow provided no basis for that growth.)
The Hong Kong-headquartered startup will use the new capital for its market penetration in Southeast Asia, particularly Singapore and Malaysia, as well as the UK and other countries in Europe. In addition, the latest funding will enable SleekFlow to enhance its product development with fintech and data analytics features, one-click checkout via social media platforms, and easy in-chat payment integrations for online to offline (O2O) and e-commerce brands. seamless workflow.
The startup recently launched a fintech product social to payment function to provide a comprehensive solution for both e-commerce and brick-and-mortar businesses. In Southeast Asia alone about 90% of digital merchants use digital payments for profitability and survival, the company says, adding that the chat-to-checkout tool is important in driving sales and conversions from various digital sales channels. SleekFlow also introduced new sales and analytics and customer service performance tracking that helps users track and analyze consumer profiles and behavior for personalized communications. her collaboration with Shopify last November.
The global social commerce market is expected to rise to: $6.2 trillion by 2030.
According to the company, one in every five dollars spent on retail in Southeast Asia is transacted through social media, and more consumers are doing so looking for companies that offer easy communication† SleekFlow integrates multiple messaging channels such as the official WhatsApp Business API, Facebook Messenger, Instagram chat, SMS, and Telegram to address the challenges of managing multiple messaging and social media platforms.
“Despite the economic downturn, the social commerce market is going stronger than ever, reaching $474 billion in 2021,” Chibo Tang, managing partner of Gobi Partners GBA, said in a statement. “Eight in 10 US companies expect to increase sales through social media in the next three years. SleekFlow’s innovative solutions will help these global merchants meet the evolving needs of customers turning to social channels to buy more than ever before.”
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