retail consolidation

Blockchain innovation.
When Uber was UberCab. Digital content tech MVP.

March 23, 2022

Can we go thrift shopping?

Hi there,

The resale market is on 🔥.

Also known as “recommerce,” the space has seen record funding activity (nearly $6B in 2021) — and a slew of exits:

Last week, France-based luxury fashion reseller Vestiaire Collective acquired peer-to-peer fashion marketplace Tradesy.
Etsy nabbed clothing resale startup Depop for $1.6B to woo Gen Z shoppers in June 2021.
Resale platforms thredUP, Poshmark, and The RealReal have all gone public since 2019.

Incumbents also want in.

Retailers from Nordstrom to Ikea are launching their own recommerce shopping experiences online and in-store — often in partnership with startups. For example:

Net-a-Porter recently partnered with a resale-as-a-service (RaaS) platform to build its own resale platform, meaning shoppers can buy an item and later resell it on the same site.
Brands like Lululemon and Levi’s have tapped a resale tech startup to manage the logistics of their buyback and resale programs.

Giving old items new life is going mainstream. We dig into the tech enabling the market here and the future of sustainable retail here.

And Now, The Research

Roll out the red carpet

Investment in blockchain companies surged from $3B in 2020 to $25B in 2021.

As the technology gains traction beyond crypto, industries from insurance to gaming are seeing blockchain applications.

Check out the latest innovative ways companies are harnessing the power of blockchain here.

Walk down memory lane

In its 2008 pitch deck, Uber (when it was UberCab) estimated the total addressable market for cabs was “$4.2B annually and growing.”

Now, it has a market cap of $65B.

From Uber to Airbnb to Canva, we compiled the pitch decks of 25+ companies before they became billion-dollar companies here.

Source: Uber

Client-Exclusive Research

Recommerce recon

From fashion to electronics to jewelry, resale will be a major factor in the retail landscape in 2022.

Startups are propelling the market forward.

We map out 100+ companies developing recommerce tech across managed marketplaces, authentication, and more.

Expert Intelligence

All the content

Brands and retailers have more digital content needs than ever, from product images for e-commerce to online videos.

Need an adoption playbook for digital content tech?

We evaluate 14 tech markets — from 3D asset creation to digital rights management — that brands and retailers should monitor, vet, and prioritize in this client-only MVP report.

Expert Intelligence

The Industry Standard

Cybersecurity Dive. Naomi Eide (@NaomiEide) talks cybersecurity M&A using CB Insights data.

GeekWire. Charlotte Schubert (@schubertcm) reports on mental health startups in the Pacific Northwest and cites CB Insights research.

TheStreet. Ellen Chang (@EllenYChang) covers Katie Haun’s $1.5B fund and mentions CB Insights data.

I love you.

Anand
@asanwal

P.S. We’re looking for a customer success manager. Send us your resume here.

Client-Exclusive Research

[Healthcare]
Young and healthy. From telemedicine to teletherapy, we identify early-stage telehealth companies transforming healthcare delivery.

[E-commerce]
Special delivery. To keep up with competitors like UPS, USPS, and Amazon, FedEx is partnering with and investing in tech companies across the supply chain.

[Fintech]
Tech market map. To meet customers’ demand for more agile payments services, companies are doubling down on payments digitization and automation capabilities.

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