E-commerce has long struggled with a fundamental problem: no matter how advanced an e-merchant's AI initiatives are, the customer almost always starts from scratch with each new visit. The store knows what's in the shopping cart, but often lacks context about the person behind the screen, their exact size, style and preferences.
It is this invisible gap that Swedish Ecomid aims to bridge. And the capital market seems to agree with the vision.
On Tuesday morning, it became official that the company is closing a seed round of 17 million dollars, making it the largest of its kind in Europe within fashion tech. The investment round is led by London-based fund Systemiq Capital.
Among the financiers are also tech profiles such as Truecaller founder Alan Mamedi and King founder Sebastian Knutsson. Perhaps most noteworthy from an industry perspective is that sports giant Stadium, which was one of Ecomid's very first customers, is now choosing to take the step over to the ownership side. H&M Group is already on board as a strategic investor.
AI without context still starts from zero. The best shopping experience should feel like stepping into a store that already knows how to help, says Oscar Rundqvist, co-founder and CEO of Ecomid.
The core of the company's offering is a digital “Shopping Passport”. The idea is that the customer's context is carried between different connected brands to reduce guesswork at the point of purchase and thus tackle the enormous cost that unnecessary returns represent.
The fact that the return issue engages e-merchants is not least noticeable in the company's growth.
Without a dedicated sales or marketing department, the platform has spread organically. Currently, around 60 brands, including COS, Asket, J.Lindeberg and Axel Arigato, have integrated the solution.
With the freshly secured record capital, the company is now shifting into next gear.
The newly acquired capital will primarily be used for broad international expansion.