【PitchBook】2024年二季度电子商务报告-2024.9_12页_7mb

E-Commerce Report Summary (Q2 2024)

Core Content

This report provides an overview of the e-commerce venture capital (VC) ecosystem and highlights key trends, investment activity, and notable companies in Q2 2024. It is designed to help investors understand the current state of the market and identify potential opportunities.

Main Trends and Insights

Q2 2024 VC Deal Activity

• Total deals: 101
• Deal value: $1.9 billion
• QoQ growth: 9.8% in deal count, 2.4% in deal value
• YoY growth: -18.5% in deal count, -34.9% in deal value
• YTD growth: -22.5% in deal count, -19.9% in deal value

The e-commerce VC vertical has stabilized since 2023, with an average of $2.4 billion in deal value across 111 deals. The growth rates reflect a slowdown from the pandemic-era surge, which was driven by online-only shopping and low interest rates.

Investment Categories

1. Storefronts & Headless APIs:

   • Deal value: $383.8 million
   • Deal count: 8
   • Key players: Vercel, Storyblok

2. Fulfillment & Delivery:

   • Deal value: $278.6 million
   • Deal count: 17
   • Key players: Suning Retail Cloud, Hive Technologies, Prewave, Omnibiz

3. E-commerce as a Service:

   • Deal value: $240.5 million
   • Deal count: 8
   • Key players: Tradeshit, FLYR, Ascend

4. Conversational Commerce:

   • Deal value: $108.4 million
   • Deal count: 1
   • Key player: Cognigy

5. Price Optimization:

   • Deal value: $43.0 million
   • Deal count: 1
   • Key player: MARKT-PILOT

6. Payment:

   • Deal value: $34.0 million
   • Deal count: 2
   • Key players: Payabli, Ansa

7. Search:

   • Deal value: $65.7 million
   • Deal count: 2
   • Key players: Daydream, Vantage Discovery

8. Subscriptions:

   • Deal value: $17.6 million
   • Deal count: 1
   • Key player: Passes

9. Online to Offline:

   • Deal value: $32.0 million
   • Deal count: 1
   • Key player: Lula Convenience

Thematic Investments

• Verticalized Platforms: Startups focusing on specific domains are gaining investor attention. Examples include Fetcherr (airline pricing), Lula Convenience (convenience stores), and Pepper (food-distribution).
• API-First Services: These are seen as a key enabler for retailers to integrate with preferred platforms.
• Flexible and Domain-Specific Solutions: Companies like Toast and Shopify are setting benchmarks for returns in the e-commerce space.

Key E-Commerce Companies

Stan

• Overview: A platform for content creators and solopreneurs, offering a white-label online store to monetize digital products, courses, and services.
• Market Need: Monetization for creators remains fragmented, with many earning less than $15,000 annually.
• Founding Year: 2020
• Last Financing: Seed round of $6.6 million at a $25.6 million post-money valuation
• Lead Investors: Formulate Ventures, Pear VC, Forerunner Ventures
• HQ Location: New York, US
• Leadership: Co-founded by John Hu (CEO) and Vitalii Dodonov (CTO). Hu has a background in investment banking and venture capital, while Dodonov has experience in data science and software engineering.

VC Exit Activity

• E-commerce VC exits are active, with notable deals in the late-stage category.
• Major exits include Vercel, Ascend, Flip, and others, indicating a maturing market and potential for returns.

Conclusion

The e-commerce VC market is evolving with a focus on specialized, flexible, and API-driven solutions. While the growth rate has slowed compared to the pandemic era, the sector remains robust and offers long-term opportunities, especially in verticalized platforms and omnichannel monetization strategies. Stan exemplifies the growing demand for tools that enable creators to effectively monetize their digital presence.

Additional Research

For further insights, PitchBook offers research on various sectors including Gaming, Enterprise SaaS, Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, and more. The team includes analysts like Eric Bellomo, Derek Hernandez, and others who provide in-depth analysis and market intelligence.