'Time is money' - for e-commerce businesses that statement couldn’t be truer. From the moment a potential customer lands on an e-commerce business’s product webpage the clock begins ticking. The more time that elapses, the more chance there is for distractions to take the customer away from the buying process, perhaps never to return.
Accelerating the decision-making process would, therefore, go a great distance in minimising the potential for disruption and improve chances of the e-tailer making the sale. But how does such a business go about spurring the customer into quicker clicking?
Step in Taggstar Ltd - a unique company leading the way in its respective sector, having developed state-of-the-art software which is provided as a service (SaaS) to help online retailers improve conversion rates and increase overall sales.
The intelligent software overlays persuasive messaging containing product-related information on webpages in real time, impressing on the customer stats such as how many people are viewing the product at that moment in time, how many purchases have been made over a certain period and the quantity of stock remaining.
The software, which uses a patent-pending algorithm, can also display special messages such as product reviews from satisfied customers, or messages derived from trends such as fast selling ‘on fire’ products. The system leverages real-time data to combine messages to best effect so as to create a sense of urgency and/or engagement with the customer to evoke a ‘buy now’ response.
The solution has been designed for all types of e-commerce, including: retail, property, entertainment, travel and finance, and works across all desktop, tablet and mobile devices as a responsive solution. Since it launched, Taggstar has served over 400m messages to some of the largest e-tailers, generating order conversion rate uplift of up to 10%.
Taggstar launched with Shop Direct Group, a £1.74 billion retailer with a roster encompassing Littlewoods, Isme and very.co.uk, in February 2014. Taggstar is now embedded across 100% of site traffic of very.co.uk, serving more than 70m messages each month. Very.co.uk has experienced a 2% uplift in order conversion by using Taggstar Basket Module, one of Taggstar’s flagship products.
Taggstar is also doing a phenomenal job on its current trial with Argos – in just 27 days from the start of the trial, Taggstar’s technology has generated a 2.28% increase in order uplift, resulting in a significant increase in revenues for Argos.
The company is actively demonstrating the power of the solution by providing free trials that are on-going with other retailers including Thomas Cook Online and lastminute.com, which gives some insight into why the company is looking for a minimum of £200,000: to fund working capital while any trials are converted to formalised contracts and any sales are finalised.
Advanced discussions are currently taking place between Taggstar and other leading UK multinationals, including ASOS, Tata Group and BA. There’s also a key to unlock the international market in the pipeline in the form of the company signing a trial with Naspers, a Johannesburg-listed global group of ecommerce and media brands with presence in over 130 countries worldwide.
More recent times have seen the company attract prominent backers to the business including Sir Stuart Rose (former Chairman of M&S); Rob Hersov (Invest Africa), Bentworth Holdings Ltd and Ariadne Capital.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£464,680
UnderPinned is an end-to-end application designed for building the future of freelancing with technology at its core. It offers an innovative one-stop solution for freelancers to find work, manage work and get paid; and for clients to manage their project-based workforce. The initial target of the company will be an audience of 13 million in the UK. They have already launched their Virtual Office in January 2020 with over 2200 users. The portal has more than 110,000 users engaged with its educational media content and has an existing partnership with IPSE, Starling Bank, Digital Risk, and Banked. They have highly curated content leading to £0.05 cost per click and 5.92% clickthrough rate and an acquisition model with a 7 times lower cost per acquisition (CPA) than the industry average. The funds will be used to scale UnderPinned, helping the company to reduce its customer acquisition cost.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£514,380
FutureBricks is an asset-backed lending platform for SME housebuilders and retail investors. It is a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform for SME housebuilders who have limited access to mainstream finance. In 2018, the company launched an online platform and mobile application with full-fledged automated lending. It has raised more than £2.8 million from just retail lenders across 16 projects. FutureBricks also maintained a 100% track record and 0% default rate of expected returns to investors to date. FutureBricks is named one of the most promising high-growth tech firms in the UK, by SVC2UK. FutureBricks was also shortlisted as “One to Watch” by London Business Awards 2019. With the investment received, the company will scale its marketing efforts and expand its commercial team to uplift and expand revenue-generating streams.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£474,120
Their Perfect Gift is an award-winning RetailTech business known in the payments industry, Marketing, Human Resources, and Incentives & Rewards. The business functions in the B2C and B2B space. The personalized gift card designed by Their Perfect Gift can be redeemed in 32million locations globally, in-store or online. The clients of Their Perfect Gift include EAT, TM Lewin, Mastercard, Neopost, Etihad, and Travelogue. In Feb 2018, the company won the Best Prepaid Product of the Year Award and became a host of other nominations. The business aims to become the biggest provider of anywhere gift cards and is targeting a market of over $5bn value in the UK alone.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£111,450
Payment fraud and identity verification are real threats to businesses and customers, but Fingopay has developed a solution. A highly secure biometric reader that scans a person's unique finger vein to complete transactions in seconds. Customer details are stored in the cloud and can be used to offer promotions and deals. Successful pilots have been achieved in Brunel University, Copenhagen Business School and Proud Bar in Camden. Fingopay has partnerships with VISA, Worldpay and Nets.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£1,216,240
Moley Robotics have created the Moley Robotic Kitchen which is a fusion of cutting edge technology and human expertise. The Moley Robotic Kitchen has been designed to fit into a regular kitchen, cost roughly the same price as a regular kitchen and can cook any dish from anywhere.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£919,980
SafeToNet is a cyber-safety company that safeguards children around the world from online threats such as bullying, grooming, abuse and aggression. The company's Artificial Intelligence (AI) system is trained to look for patterns of behaviour that can suggest a child may be at risk. Its smart keyboard detects risks in real-time and steers children away from trouble by filtering harmful outgoing messages before they can be sent and any damage can be done. SafeToNet has sold more than 550,000 licences of its AI-based safeguarding solution in 2020 and is operational in 109 countries. It has featured in The Daily Mail, The Independent, and The Times, to name a few. It has raised £2.52 million to invest in its growth and is offering secondary shares to investors.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£183,606
Bippit is a wellbeing platform that provides employees with financial consultancy from a professional with zero cost to the employees themselves. The company asserts that COVID-19 has made financial consultancy services difficult to access for employees. Bippit aims to resolve this situation. It is available in mobile and desktop formats and integrates with an employees’ entire financial life through 'Open Banking'. Bippit argues that this helps staff members receive all the tools they need to learn, plan, and take action concerning their finances. It also helps companies save time and money, ensures that employees receive an impartial support system, and allows financial experts to get an extra revenue stream. The company will launch an Initial Public Offering (IPO) likely within 5 years if it moves beyond strategic acquisition.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£73,000
Thyngs are connecting real world experiences to people's digital mobile lives so any marketer can transform their existing promotional objects into interactable encounters. Thyngs has already developed ground-breaking services in events, entertainment and the charitable sectors since being founded in March 2016.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£50,000
Businesses can now book meetings in pubs to discuss projects whilst enjoying food and drinks. MeetingsInn aims to satisfy the demand for companies that would prefer to hold discussions in smaller, yet livelier venues. Through their research, MeetingsInn has discovered 4,500 pubs that would be ideal locations for businesses to gather. All pubs will be audited to ensure they meet MeetingsInn's standards.
MeetingsInn generates revenue from a 10% commission of all bookings confirmed, as well as pubs that wish to advertise and have premium listings on the website. This crowdfunding round will allow MeetingsInn to list more pubs on their platform, as well as enhance their booking service to include tools and resources such as group accommodations.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£60,960
