Swap, the e-commerce operating system that manages all operations for direct-to-consumer brands, today announced a $9 million Series A led by QED Investors, with participation from Cherry Ventures, 9900 Capital, 2100 Ventures, and Ed Hallen, the Co-Founder of Klaviyo. With this capital, Swap will launch Swap Global, allowing the company to unlock new markets through DDP shipping, automated tax remittance, and express customs clearance. The funding will also enable Swap to grow its marketing and sales teams while the company works to broaden its footprint in the UK, Europe, and the U.S.
The global cross-border e-commerce market is projected to surpass $1 trillion by 2031. It’s a market with immense opportunity – twenty-eight percent of sales from companies already engaged in international e-commerce come from cross-border interactions. Recognizing this, Swap will offer their companies global growth without the growing pains, through this new product offering. Swap gives customers all the answers by providing transparency with guaranteed landed costs. This latest offering takes the worry out of cross-border shipments and ensures duties, taxes, and fees are done at checkpoints to improve cart conversion. Swap handles all global tax filing and duty drawbacks via localized tax and VAT filing by country on all international shipments. Customers will save hundreds of thousands annually by accessing and using Swap’s tax ID’s globally automated filing of duty drawback on return shipments.
“I am thrilled to be partnering with QED Investors and its team of seasoned fintech operators to help scale Swap globally, at a time when DTC companies are desperately looking for ways to streamline their operations and improve customer lifetime value,” said Sam Atkinson, Co-Founder of Swap.
Product returns continue to impose logistical challenges on retailers – in 2022 alone, consumers returned a staggering $212B of products, just over 16.5% percent of total retail sales. For every $1B in sales, the average retailer incurs $165M in returns, and for every $100 in returned merchandise accepted, retailers lose $10.40 to return fraud. Swap is combating this problem by offering consumers a platform that makes it seamless to make returns, exchanges, or receive store credit. The benefit for the retailer is that Swap’s team handles all the direct relationships with carriers, insurers, and recycling partners, managing it under one platform as a brand’s e-commerce operating system.
“We are ambitious with the products we are building, and with the launch of our Global offering, we are now the first e-commerce platform to do it all at once. Swap continues to be at the forefront of innovation in this space and will continue to carve out new categories within the e-commerce market as we help companies simplify their tech stacks,” said Co-Founder of Swap, Zach Bailet.
“Swap is a true outlier in the crowded retail SaaS platform space,” said QED Investors’ Alexandra Piedrahita. “Instead of building one more point solution, Swap has built a one-stop shop for a merchant’s entire logistics stack, starting with the two most challenging pieces of the puzzle – returns and cross-border. We have no doubt that the company’s holistic approach to e-commerce operations is truly game-changing for brands and retailers. We’re incredibly excited and proud to partner with Swap as the company prepares for a year of growth with their newly launched Swap Global product offering.”
Swap currently partners with hundreds of DTC brands, including PANGAIA, Retrofete, Hill House Home, Drake’s, Percival, Nadine Merabi, and more. This funding news comes on the heels of Juan Pellerano Rendón being named Swap’s first Chief Marketing Officer, leading all marketing and communications functions. Pellerano Rendón recently led Swap’s rebrand, overhauling the company’s branding, design, and messaging, and in 2024, will launch the company’s first series of marketing campaigns. To learn more about Swap, visit www.swap-commerce.com/fundingnews.
About Swap
Founded in 2022 by Sam Atkinson and Zach Bailet, Swap is the e-commerce operating system that manages all operations for direct-to-consumer brands. Swap is e-commerce evolved. The company is designed to help direct-to-consumer brands simplify their tech stack, by improving every pain point in a brand’s operations journey – from shipping, tracking, and package-protection, to returns and cross-border.
About QED Investors:
QED Investors is a global leading boutique venture capital firm based in Alexandria, VA. Founded by Nigel Morris and Frank Rotman in 2007, QED Investors is focused on investing in early-stage, disruptive financial services companies in the U.S., U.K., Latin America, and Southeast Asia. QED Investors is dedicated to building great businesses and uses a unique, hands-on approach that leverages our partners’ decades of entrepreneurial and operational experience, helping their companies achieve breakthrough growth. Notable investments include Credit Karma, ClearScore, Nubank, SoFi, Avant, Remitly, GreenSky, Klarna, QuintoAndar, Loft, Konfio, Creditas, AvidXchange, Current and Mission Lane.
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