Tapcart Raises $50M to Help Ecommerce Brands 'Break Through the Noise' on Mobile

Bernard Mendez
Bernard Mendez is an editorial intern at dot.LA. He attends UCLA, where he is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics. Mendez was previously an editor at the Daily Bruin, the student newspaper at UCLA.
Tapcart Raises $50M to Help Ecommerce Brands 'Break Through the Noise' on Mobile
A Shopify-based mobile ecommerce app that exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic is gearing up for a rise of mobile ecommerce.

Tapcart, a Santa Monica-based company founded in 2017, announced Monday that it has raised $50 million in Series B funding. The company plans to use the new funds to hire around 200 more people, mostly at its Santa Monica headquarters, and expand to businesses in areas like Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

The round was led by Left Lane Capital, Shopify, SignalFire, Greycroft, Act One Ventures and Amplify LA.

Founded in 2017, Tapcart saw major growth during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, in part because of a rapid increase of online mobile shopping during lockdowns.

CEO Eric Netsch said he thinks the pandemic only hastened the onset of mobile ecommerce.

"The pandemic really just reassured the path that the world was already on," he said. "We knew that mobile was taking the world by storm far before the pandemic happened."

Tapcart is built on top of Shopify's platform, allowing businesses signed up with the massive ecommerce network to design and customize mobile apps, without requiring any coding.

Netsch argues Tapcart's strength is in enabling brands to increase customer loyalty. One of the ways it does that is through mobile push notifications. The platform allows companies to send push notifications to notify customers about mobile-exclusive deals or about items left in their carts. They can also customize those notifications to individual users.

He sees push notifications as more effective than other forms of reaching customers, such as emails or SMS.

"There's industry reports out there that claim that emails are getting 45% less effective every single year... SMS is quickly becoming spammed," he said. " … merchants have to find ways to break through the noise."

Mobile apps also offer greater customer loyalty than mobile websites, he added.

Several thousand Shopify companies, including Fashion Nova, Pier One Imports and The Hundreds, have created mobile apps using Tapcart's software. Merchants have sold over $2 billion through Tapcart apps, including $1.2 billion in the past year.

And though there are other apps on the Shopify store that are similarly priced and offer similar services, Tapcart already works with major Shopify brands and offers individualized support to consumer brands, Netsch said.

For now, Tapcart plans to remain on Shopify and will continue to hedge its bets on the rise of mobile ecommerce, Netsch said.

"We see these trends as just getting started," he said. "And they're definitely here to stay."

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LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec
LA Tech ‘Moves’:

“Moves,” our roundup of job changes in L.A. tech, is presented by Interchange.LA, dot.LA's recruiting and career platform connecting Southern California's most exciting companies with top tech talent. Create a free Interchange.LA profile here—and if you're looking for ways to supercharge your recruiting efforts, find out more about Interchange.LA's white-glove recruiting service by emailing Sharmineh O’Farrill Lewis (sharmineh@dot.la). Please send job changes and personnel moves to moves@dot.la.

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Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

Raises
Image by Joshua Letona

A local space robotics startup raised fresh funding to expand the flight model manufacturing facilities throughout the U.S. and increase employment, while a remote litigation platform raised more funding to continue growing its footprint in new markets across the country, develop service channels for its clients and continue expanding its tech team.

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Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

Gitai Raises $30 Million to Expand Manufacturing Footprint in Los Angeles
\u200bPhoto: Gitai

Space robotics company Gitai raised a $30 million Series B extension this week, bringing the total value of the round to roughly $47 million.

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