InMobi’s Glance Acquires Social Commerce Startup Shop101 

Stellaris Ventures-backed ecommerce platform Shop101 on 14th June announced that it has agreed to an acquisition deal from Glance, a content discovery platform owned by adtech unicorn InMobi.

In a statement on Monday, Shop 101 said that the acquisition will provide Glance end-to-end capability for launching celebrity and influencer-led live commerce, as the company looks to expand into new ecommerce categories.

The deal will also benefit Shop101’s suppliers who can leverage Glance’s 125 Mn+ daily active users to grow their businesses, the startup said in the statement. This indicates that Shop101 will continue to exist as an independent brand post the deal.

The terms of the deal and size of the acquisition were not disclosed in the statement.

“As leaders in the mobile content space, both Glance and Roposo are disrupting the way users create, discover, and consume content, making them the preferred platforms for top celebrities and creators to connect with their audience. With the addition of Shop101, we aim to make these platforms the top shopping destinations for millions of users as well,” said Piyush Shah, Co-Founder, InMobi Group, and President & COO, Glance.

Shop101 was founded by Abhinav Jain, Aditya Gupta and Kalpak Chhajed in 2015. It is a full stack ecommerce company that brings a network of 10 Mn resellers and 10,000 supplier partners together serving customers across over 2000 towns across the country. 

The Shop101 mobile app also enables lakhs of sellers across India to sell online seamlessly within minutes by providing end to end order processing, inventory management, pan-India logistics (including cash on delivery), payment support, and a wide range of supply.

The company which employs around 300 professionals is backed by Vy Capital, Stellaris Venture Partners, Unilever Ventures and Kalaari Capital.

“We had started Shop101 as a social e-commerce platform with a vision to democratise entrepreneurship and commerce for the masses using a technology-first approach. With Glance and Roposo, Shop101 will now be part of a company that shares our goal of transforming the shopping experience for millions of consumers globally,” Abhinav Jain, Founder & CEO of Shop101 added in the statement.     

Celebrity and influencer-led LIVE commerce is touted as one of the emerging ecommerce trends globally as shoppers look for new buying experiences. As opposed to traditional e-commerce which is focused on efficiency, wider choice and convenience, influenced-led commerce is a form of interactive commerce that integrates recommendation tools right into the buying experience. It also looks at replicating the fun of physical shopping on digital platforms, enabling the shoppers to interact with the brand endorsers and order products in real time.  

This model has seen huge adoption in China accounting for over 20% of the total ecommerce sales. Even though it is still in an early phase in India now, the total addressable market for live and Interactive commerce in the country is expected to surpass $40 Bn by 2025. According to a recent report by leading management and strategy consulting firm Zinnov, Glance has the potential to be among India’s largest video-first, LIVE, social, and interactive commerce platforms.