Mumbai, India, October 3, 2019 – CityMall a vernacular
social e-commerce platform receives an undisclosed amount of funding from Jitendra
Gupta of Citrus Pay, Alvin Tse of Xiaomi, Manish Vij and Harish Bahl from Smile
Group, Rishab Malik ex-co-founder of Droom, Rajesh Sawhney of GSF and M&S
Partners among other marquee investors who do not wish to be named. CityMall
sells lifestyle and household products with curated special discounted deals
through peer to peer referrals via WhatsApp and also plans to target to next
200 million customers through this medium.
social e-commerce platform receives an undisclosed amount of funding from Jitendra
Gupta of Citrus Pay, Alvin Tse of Xiaomi, Manish Vij and Harish Bahl from Smile
Group, Rishab Malik ex-co-founder of Droom, Rajesh Sawhney of GSF and M&S
Partners among other marquee investors who do not wish to be named. CityMall
sells lifestyle and household products with curated special discounted deals
through peer to peer referrals via WhatsApp and also plans to target to next
200 million customers through this medium.
Founded in early 2019 by Angad Kikla, Divij Goyal and Naisheel
Verdhan, CityMall’s model and unique approach to customer engagement has
attracted A-list investors to take notice. In just a few months the company has
grown from 50 to 750 orders a day growing by 50% every week. Basis current
scale of growth, CityMall plans to reach 20,000 orders a day in the next
12 months.
Verdhan, CityMall’s model and unique approach to customer engagement has
attracted A-list investors to take notice. In just a few months the company has
grown from 50 to 750 orders a day growing by 50% every week. Basis current
scale of growth, CityMall plans to reach 20,000 orders a day in the next
12 months.
City Mall sells value for money household and lifestyle items
and focuses on curating special discounted deals being leveraged via the
networks of individual customers within WhatsApp. The company offers discounted
offers on a product selected, post which, each individual then shares the item
within their personal network in the WhatsApp universe of 400 million users to
gain referral deals on the items purchased. With very low prices this mechanism
motivates users to have a more dynamic and interactive shopping experience.
and focuses on curating special discounted deals being leveraged via the
networks of individual customers within WhatsApp. The company offers discounted
offers on a product selected, post which, each individual then shares the item
within their personal network in the WhatsApp universe of 400 million users to
gain referral deals on the items purchased. With very low prices this mechanism
motivates users to have a more dynamic and interactive shopping experience.
CityMall’s model not only benefits consumers but also
manufacturers, as direct shipping eliminates layers of middlemen therefore
raising the profit. City Mall focuses on local branded and unbranded products
to erase any premium that comes from branding as well. Above all, through the
process of social sharing, the product’s marketing information rotates within
the accurate niche audience.
manufacturers, as direct shipping eliminates layers of middlemen therefore
raising the profit. City Mall focuses on local branded and unbranded products
to erase any premium that comes from branding as well. Above all, through the
process of social sharing, the product’s marketing information rotates within
the accurate niche audience.
According to Co-Founder, CityMall, Angad Kikla, “We
have received tremendous support from our investors and this funding will help
us technologically develop and strengthen our supply chain while keeping our
growth plans intact. We also focus on differentiated customer experiences that
play a big role among the price conscious audience enabling them to purchase
online more easily.”
have received tremendous support from our investors and this funding will help
us technologically develop and strengthen our supply chain while keeping our
growth plans intact. We also focus on differentiated customer experiences that
play a big role among the price conscious audience enabling them to purchase
online more easily.”
On why CityMall chose WhatsApp as a medium, Co-Founder,
Divij Goyal said, “WhatsApp is the most penetrated social network in small
town India with maximum amount of time spent by a user on this platform. Using
WhatsApp will provide very strong view-ability of deals shared for our products
as compared to other social platforms like SMS. We will be doubling down on
leveraging WhatsApp for downstream e-commerce workflows with more languages
soon.”
Divij Goyal said, “WhatsApp is the most penetrated social network in small
town India with maximum amount of time spent by a user on this platform. Using
WhatsApp will provide very strong view-ability of deals shared for our products
as compared to other social platforms like SMS. We will be doubling down on
leveraging WhatsApp for downstream e-commerce workflows with more languages
soon.”
According to key investor Hiro Mashita, Founder and Director of
M&S Partners Pte. Ltd., Singapore, “CityMall plans to cater to 200
million middle class price sensitive buyers with women belonging to the tier 2,
3 and 4 cities of India. They are marginally technologically inclined and
typically social buyers. Through CityMall, we have found a platform that
couples this behavior and seamlessly integrates with WhatsApp to provide a
differentiated way of shopping online”
M&S Partners Pte. Ltd., Singapore, “CityMall plans to cater to 200
million middle class price sensitive buyers with women belonging to the tier 2,
3 and 4 cities of India. They are marginally technologically inclined and
typically social buyers. Through CityMall, we have found a platform that
couples this behavior and seamlessly integrates with WhatsApp to provide a
differentiated way of shopping online”
CityMall’s target audience are women in small town India. They
range between the ages of 25-34 years and are one of the fastest growing
customer segment. With this development, the company plans to add more women
centric products in addition to more languages on the platform soon.
range between the ages of 25-34 years and are one of the fastest growing
customer segment. With this development, the company plans to add more women
centric products in addition to more languages on the platform soon.
