From Discovery to Delivery: eCommerce @ Panache Ventures

By Prashant Matta, Partner

Rather than making predictions in the current unpredictable environment, we thought it would be more insightful to learn from Panache Ventures’ portfolio companies in the eCommerce sector:

Auto could be a big winner

Many ecommerce categories have seen positive momentum throughout the pandemic. However, one that stands out is auto. “Buying and selling a car has become as easy as buying any product on Amazon. The pandemic increased the demand for cars yet less than 1% of cars are currently sold online. We believe we can provide a better, more transparent and trusted online experience.” Dan Park, CEO of Clutch

Home is the new boxing ring

While connected fitness was already a fast growing trend, the pandemic created an even larger demand for at-home fitness. The most popular workouts will continue to be served at home with a live class experience. “There is a massive need for connected fitness equipment as consumers are looking to not only keep working out from their homes, but also to find a sense of community which is a core component of the Fightcamp platform.” Khalil Zahar, CEO, Fightcamp

Product discovery simplified

Ads, fake reviews, price discrepancies and poor product coverage plague online stores. Amazon offers thousands of products but heavily promotes paid ads and consumers are bombarded with products causing analysis paralysis. Let Lustre AI do all the research for you and save you money by super powering your decision making. The next time your friend asks you which toaster to buy, just install the Lustre Chrome extension.

Live commerce is finally here

Can’t visit a store? No problem, welcome to a live shop. This has been a trend in Asia for years but we are only starting to see the early innings in North America. With consumers stuck at home, “new online experiences will be key to improve acquisition and loyalty of customers. It will be excessively true for aspirational goods such as fashion, digital lifestyle, and also the food & beverage industry. Through Live Shopping, Livescale can help brands to solve that problem, allowing consumers to engage the conversation with their audience, facilitating awareness and discovery of their products, while making them easily shoppable.” Virgile Ollivier, Co-founder & CEO, Livescale

Dropshipping powers new entrepreneurs

“The E-commerce landscape in 2021 is very much dependent on when the pandemic slows down and the majority of people are vaccinated. Until then, more offline businesses are moving online and people who lost their jobs are looking to enter the gig economy — making dropshipping very popular. The vast majority of these individuals need two solutions to run their businesses online: the first is having a storefront, which they can solve with products like Shopify, and secondly, finding products to add to their stores, which Spocket can solve.” Saba Mohebpour, CEO, Spocket

Supply chain and logistics transformed

“Expect to see continued immense innovation in two areas — supply chain logistics and food science. Novel processes, ingredients, and research will make it increasingly possible to create truly delicious products that are actually good for our bodies, our performance, and our planet. Novel networks and platforms will let companies like Gainful get these delicious products to customers faster, easier, and cheaper.” Eric Wu, Co-founder, Gainful

Retail has changed forever, but not necessarily for the negative. Retailers have an opportunity to transform their stores into a hybrid model: experiential shopping for in-store visits and mini-fulfillment centres to power faster, urban deliveries. “With our suite of eCommerce plugins (available on major platforms like Shopify) and vetted network of couriers, we’re helping merchants get started with same-day delivery in a few clicks of a button.” Aadil Kazmi, CEO, Shipswyft

What to build next? We asked these entrepreneurs where do they need help:

• Last-mile delivery solutions with a nation-wide coverage
• Simpler and cheaper cross-border transactions and checkouts
• Smart warehousing using machine learning to reduce the overhead of storing products
• Better inventory management and forecasting tool
• Solutions to tackle surging customer support requirements of small retailers
• Smart connectors to reduce complexities among ecommerce platforms, business apps or payment gateways