App commerce company Poq has secured GBP3.5 million in its latest funding round, led by growth capital investor Beringea with additional funding from Meyer Bergman and Barclays. This round brings the total amount raised by Poq so far to GBP7 million.
Poq provides a Software-as-a-Service platform (SaaS) for iOS and Android that enables retailers to build engaging shopping apps for their customers. Unlike traditional agency-built apps, Poq’s service operates on Poq’s own platform, ensuring that apps are refreshed in real-time with the latest updates. Retailers using Poq’s platform can access in-app data that provides insights into their customers’ shopping habits, giving them a deeper understanding of how customers use their service.
The rise of the app economy, together with Poq’s proprietary technology, has allowed the company to gain traction with large retailers such as House of Fraser, Missguided, Holland & Barrett, and Made.com, with Missguided winning the ‘Best App’ award at this year’s Drapers Digital Awards. Poq’s SaaS offering is well-positioned for large retailers, as it is a secure and easily-scaled platform. The company has built on this success in the past year, tripling its revenue and signing US department store giant Belk.
In the past twelve months, Poq has extended its service by adding a number of partners, including PayPal and Facebook Login. This latest round of funding will be used to help Poq expand its customer base among large and international retailers. Poq also plans to use this round to extend its service so that in-house developers will be able to customise their apps themselves.
Oyvind Henriksen, CEO and co-founder of Poq, says: “The app economy is growing at a miraculous speed. A recent report estimates that by the end of 2021, it will be worth $6.3 trillion globally. Mobile commerce is the single largest driver of growth in this sector, and with mobile transactions becoming more and more convenient we expect this trend to continue. The development of apps to support this growth is crucial.
“Poq is dedicated to making the transition to mobile as smooth as possible for retailers. With our customer-centric approach to app design, our apps provide the best possible experience for customers when shopping on the go. We’re incredibly lucky to have received continued support and enthusiasm from Beringea over the course of our journey, and we’re excited to see what opportunities this next round of funding will bring us.”
Eyal Malinger, Investment Director at Beringea, says: “We have been incredibly impressed with Poq’s rapid expansion in such a short period of time. Year on year, Poq’s innovative platform attracts more and more mainstream retailers to create shopping apps to supplement their main sites, bringing the shopping experience to life via mobile. Poq is a cost-effective and technically superior alternative to the expensive and monolithic retail apps that agencies typically deliver.
“Poq is on the forefront of defining the app commerce category. Its approach combines an understanding of customer-centric design with the technical savviness required to integrate with leading ecommerce platforms such as Salesforce Commerce Cloud, SAP Hybris, Oracle ATG and Magento. We’re excited to support the team as it develops the global presence of the company and continues to help large and international retailers improve the service they provide to their customers.”
