ShopSavvy, a mobile shopping assistant,
announced that it has secured $7 million in Series A funding.
The round was led by Eduardo Saverin,
Facebook co-founder and private investor. Saverin will provide advice to
ShopSavvy and join the company’s board of directors. In addition, ShopSavvy
will add investor Brad Martin, former Chairman and CEO of Saks Incorporated and
Chairman of RBM Venture Company to its board of advisors.
ShopSavvy will use the financing to open a
new office in San Francisco and expand the company’s engineering team.
“Much like the nascent days of social
media, I believe the mobile shopping services market is in the very early
stages of change,” said Eduardo Saverin.
According to Forrester Research, mobile
commerce is expected to reach $31 billion by 2016, up from $3 billion in 2010.
The strong uptake in mobile shopping indicates that today’s consumers demand to
easily and quickly locate, research and buy products both online and in-store.
ShopSavvy has established the largest
mobile shopping customer base, with more than 20 million downloads and over 10
million current unique users. ShopSavvy counts over 40,000 partnerships with
retailers, including strong connections to the world’s largest such as Walmart,
Target, Best Buy, Sears, Nordstrom and Barnes & Noble.
The company’s technology brings real-time
pricing and product information directly into a consumer’s hands. Using
propriety algorithms to anticipate sales and buying points, ShopSavvy also
provides valuable buying information and advertising opportunities. The
company’s corporate customers include Best Buy, Consumer Reports, HP, Kellogg,
Microsoft, the New York Times, Nokia, Panasonic, Readers Digest, and Visa.
“Between Eduardo’s social media
experience and Brad’s years of retail experience, they have seen it all in this
industry, so we’re very proud that they are both on board,” said Alexander
Muse, CEO of ShopSavvy.
By Telecomlead.com Team
editor@telecomlead.com
