What does SwopStore do? How did you come up with the idea of stepping your foot on a customer-acquisition platform?
Founded in 2023, Swopstore is India’s first customer-acquisition platform focussed on helping online businesses scale up their customer base, boost sales and drive better engagement. We saw that traditional e-commerce strategies were falling short in addressing the full customer lifecycle. Many brands were facing low conversion rates despite high traffic, and there was a clear need for a platform that goes beyond typical marketing to focus on long-term customer loyalty. Our platform allows brands to identify high-potential customers and tailor their approaches to maximise acquisition and retention.
In the context of today’s e-market, why do you think a ‘customer-acquisition platform’ is essential? How popular a choice do you think it is for entrepreneurs?
Customer-acquisition platforms are vital today as the cost of acquiring new customers continues to rise, especially with the saturation of online marketing. SwopStore helps businesses to optimise their marketing spend by focussing on high-conversion strategies, meaning that brands can better target their efforts and reduce customer churn. For entrepreneurs, it’s becoming an increasingly popular choice. Platforms like SwopStore are not just about getting traffic, these’re about converting that traffic into paying loyal customers. Over 200 brands have already benefitted from our platform, seeing an increase in sales by up to 25 per cent.
How does the partnership with e-commerce platforms work? Name your top five brands that are integrated with SwopStore.
SwopStore partners with e-commerce platforms by integrating directly into their systems, allowing businesses to access advanced insights into customer behaviour. Our Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven tools help brands predict trends, track purchasing patterns and deliver personalised marketing campaigns.
Currently, SwopStore is partnered with top brands across multiple sectors, including fashion, lifestyle and others. To name a few, brands like Bombay Shaving Company, Snitch, Mama Earth, Swiggy and True elements have partnered with us, and we are integrating with many more soon.
Did your past experiences help in setting up SwopStore? If yes, please explain how. Further, how important are experiences for budding entrepreneurs?
Yes, my past experiences in e-commerce, digital marketing and customer analytics were pivotal in setting up SwopStore. I understood early on that many businesses were focussing too much on traffic and not enough on conversions and retention. This insight shaped SwopStore’s design as a platform to tackle these challenges.
For budding entrepreneurs, experience is everything. It helps you foresee challenges, learn from mistakes and adapt quickly to market changes. Success comes from continuously learning and evolving.
Are there any funding updates scheduled ahead? If yes, how are you planning to utilise the money?
Yes, we are in advanced talks with investors for our next funding round. We plan to use the funds to expand our technology stack, particularly by enhancing our AI-driven customer analytics. Additionally, we will be focussing on geographical expansion, both in India and internationally, and scaling our operations into offline markets. We also plan to invest in hiring more talent and expanding our partnerships with e-commerce and brick-and-mortar brands.
What is the future of the customer-acquisition platform? How different is it from an e-commerce platform?
The future of customer-acquisition platforms like SwopStore lies in their ability to offer personalised, data-driven insights that help brands build long-term relationships with their customers. Unlike e-commerce platforms that primarily focus on transactions, SwopStore emphasises customer lifecycle management, engagement and retention. By analysing customer behaviour, predicting trends and offering customised engagement strategies, we differentiate ourselves from traditional e-commerce models, which often don’t prioritise these aspects. The ability to integrate with various platforms and provide actionable insights sets customer-acquisition platforms apart from standard e-commerce solutions.
Where do you see SwopStore in the next five years?
In the next five years, we see SwopStore as the leading customer-acquisition platform, not only in India, but globally. We aim to increase our market share by helping brands in various sectors, such as food aggregators, airlines and infrastructure, grow their customer base.
By 2025, we aim to achieve a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of Rs 400 crore, onboard over 500 brands, and expand our services into offline markets as well. Our focus will be on leveraging AI and Machine learning (ML) technologies to offer predictive analytics that will redefine customer-acquisition strategies.
dorina@thefoundermedia.in
