Bitmo, a rapidly growing Carlsband, California-based mobile gifting and payment platform company, has announced it raised $3 million in funding as it aims to disrupt the $160 billion gift card industry. New investors in this round include Everplus Capital, Longboard Capital Advisors, and a few Southern California-based family fund offices. And additional investment was provided by current investors including Bitmo board members and angel investors.
This funding round will be used for accelerating the growth of Bitmo’s consumer platform, expand retailer-focused enterprise products, and hire more marketing, sales, finance, product, and engineering talent. Plus the company will be expanding its office space in Carlsbad, CA.
Essentially, Bitmo allows consumers to easily send gifts securely from their mobile wallet. This helps prevent the loss of physical plastic gift cards. Plus it enables the ability to split and even exchange card value from one store to another for free.
And Bitmo provides retailers with a unique way to directly engage with customers on their platform of choice. Bitmo uses intelligent data to connect the right customer to the right store — which helps drive measurable revenue for 130 nationwide brands already integrated on the platform and this helps retailers that are eager to recoup billions of dollars in lost gift card revenue. Some of the brands include 1-800-FLOWERS.com, Airbnb, Amazon, AMC, GameStop, Macy’s, Nike, Nordstrom, Old Navy, Regal Cinemas, Petco, Panera Bread, Sephora, and Yard House.
“Research shows that consumers spend $160 billion on gift cards a year, yet one-third of those who receive gift cards don’t use them,” said Bitmo CEO and founder J. Michael Smallwood. “Bitmo solves this problem by removing physical cards and using technology to directly connect consumers with the retail brands they love. Our platform makes sending a gift as easy as sending a text, while giving recipients total control and convenience in how they spend. Nowadays, we can do everything from our smartphones – from hailing a cab to fractional stock share investing to buying a home. We believe sending a gift should be just as quick and simple.”
“Simply put, our decision to invest in Bitmo comes down to proven execution, large market opportunity, and solid leadership,” added Bitmo lead investor and board member Jeffrey Haux. “Bitmo is a scalable platform that simplifies an existing consumer behavior while showing measurable value to retailers.”
By the end of the year, Bitmo is on track to surpass over one million users and is growing 28% month-over-month. So far, more than 100,000 gifts have been redeemed with consumers spending an average 3.5 times the gift amount in-store or online. And over 10% of gift recipients find new stores on Bitmo — half of which become multiple visit repeat customers.
