Priceza pulls in funding

Priceza pulls in funding

Priceza, a shopping search engine and price comparison platform, has secured an undisclosed amount of Series B funding from German giant Hubert Burda Media Group, marking the Bangkok-based company's largest-ever financing.

The proceeds will be used to foster the company's growth in Southeast Asia, said Thanawat Malabuppha, chief executive and co-founder of Priceza.

"Being backed by a strategic, global investor like Hubert Burda Media will enable Priceza to leverage its digital expertise and in-depth media understanding to deliver online shopping services to our consumers across Southeast Asia," he said.

Mr Thanawat said Priceza is gearing up to enhance its capabilities to set better functions for search engines.

Priceza currently offers its services in six countries, with over 13 million monthly visitors. The company has 1 million online merchants offering 59 million items.

Thailand and Indonesia are its best markets, with the former boasting 7.5 million monthly visitors, said Mr Thanawat.

Up to 65% of Priceza's customers are between the ages of 18 and 34. Most of them are tech savvy, mobile enthusiasts who compare prices online to get the best deals.

Electronics, fashion, lifestyle, health and beauty products are the most popular online shopping categories, he said.

"We [Priceza] help online merchants pull in an average of 130,000 orders per month, worth around 300 million baht," said Mr Thanawat.

Priceza earns a commission each time an online merchant make a sale through its platform.

Mr Thanawat noted several reports saying that online shopping only accounted for 1-2% of total retail sales in Southeast Asia, compared with 16% in South Korea, 9% in the US and 8% globally.

But e-commerce in Southeast Asia reached an inflection point in 2015 and could reach its full potential in 2020, thanks to the growth of middle-class income and the proliferation of mobile devices.

A.T. Kearney, a global management consulting firm, forecasts Asean's e-commerce market will reach reach US$67-89 billion over the next five years.

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