$1.42 bn worth of eComm investment in 2016. Top 5 eRetailers who stole the show

Indian eCommerce ecosystem is expanding and is expanding BIG! As per a recent report published by a media house, these eCommerce companies have raised around $1.42 billion across 307 deals in the first quarter of 2016. After a slowdown of investment in eCommerce sector last year, the industry has once again bounced back with an unprecedented pace since the starting of this year.

With much coherent retail and eRetail policies, advancements in FDI norms and rising preference of digital shopping, eCommerce in India is heading towards its unpredictable best. 2015 was an interesting year for online retailers as the industry saw a topsy-turvy ride in terms of both revenue and investments. Betting on huge discounting, many of these online marketplaces burnt huge cash and hence struggled in order to raise more funds. Many leading eCommerce companies like Flipkart went through a ‘down-round’ funding where their investors further invested comparatively lower valuation than valuation placed upon the company earlier. These valuations were stuck down by more than one investing groups.

However, the online retailers were quick enough to overcome this lull and have shifted gears in order to regain the investor’s interest. From a discounting-led model to sheer focus on unit economics have made eCommerce scenario more practical and realistic.

With the graph rising significantly, here are the top 6 eCommerce companies in terms of funding it received in the first quarter of 2016:

Snapdeal    
Home-grown eCommerce giant Snapdeal has been on a roller coaster ride in terms of fund raising since the beginning of 2016. The company raised two rounds of funding in Q1 of 2016. In February, it raised around Rs 335 crore from Brother Fortune Apparel Pte Ltd followed by another Rs 140 crore from Luxembourg-based investor, Clouse SA.

The above mentioned tranche was a part of Snapdeal’s Series J round funding. Post these investments, Snapdeal has aggressively worked on expanding its verticals and consumer base. The online marketplace has recently undergone a major brand overhaul and has unveiled a new logo. The company has also entered into real estate segment.

Paytm
Mobile Payments turned eCommerce portal Paytm has always been stagnant of its funding spree. The Noida-based company has raised about $40 million from Taiwan-based Media Tek’s firm Mountain Capital in August this year. Paytm has raised this fresh fund at a valuation of about $5 billion.

Paytm has always been keen on disrupting the online payments industry and has recently introduced Aadhaar-based eKYC (E-Know Your Customer) to make the customer verification process convenient, paperless, and real-time.

Shopclues
One of the latest entrants in the Unicorn club, Shopclues has recently received a massive funding of around $150 million in its series E round by Singapore Government’s GIC and its existing investors Tiger Global and Nexus Venture Partners. The eCommerce company said it to be its last funding before its public issue next year.

Post the fund raiser, the Gurgaon-based company announced to invest a total of 1 crore across four startups. The strategic investment also entailed assistance in operations, technology and strategic partnerships that ShopClues intends to provide to these startups.

Lenskart
Online eyewear retailer Lenskart too was amongst one of the few eRetailers to nab funding in the first quarter of 2016. The company, last month, had received an undisclosed amount of funding from Premji Invest, the investment office of Azim Premji, Chairman and Founder of the Wipro Group.

The injected money is expected to be close to Rs 200 crore with a valuation of around Rs 2000 crore.

Bluestone
Tapping into the high tides of investments in eCommerce, online jewellery store Bluestone.com has also raised a funding of around Rs 200 crore in July through IIFL and Accel Partners and some other venture finance companies.

Recently the company had rolled out plans to increase its design gallery five times by the end of 2020 to tap the fast-growing online jewellery space. Recently Bluestone stands for half per cent of the overall online jewellery market that is touted by a $200bn market.