August 4, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team
If SpongeBob Squarepants taught us nothing else (and it taught me PLENTY) it’s that in the future, everything will be chrome (not Chrome – but yes, that too!). Well if the massive funding for Lockerz is any indication, everything in the future will also be social. In a story WAAAYYYY back when I first started working for Zippycart, we covered how Lockerz had emerged onto the social ecommerce solution marketplace and was trying to become the “homepage for generation Z.”
The site is a social shopping platform where users can display their favorite brands and products. It place great emphasis on becoming a “brand advocate” and drawing other users towards promotional pieces like advertisements, etc. for which both the advocate and the viewer receive points (which they abbreviate as PTZ – maybe because it’s edgier? who knows). The points can then be redeemed via their ecommerce solution for discounts on select products. Experienced brand advocates can even earn enough PTZ to get certain items totally free.
Well the company must be doing something right, because they just pulled in $36 million more dollars in funding. Weighing in at $66 million dollars in total funding, this makes them one of the most well-funded tech companies in Seattle. They revealed yesterday that the money had come from their earliest investors, which shows a great deal of sustained confidence in the growing ecommerce solution. New monies were also provided by DAG Ventures and LiveNation.
Lockerz also revealed that they were planning on bringing in an ADDITIONAL 9 million dollars in venture funding within the next two months. All this money, combined with the new investors – one of which is a leading ticket sales company – seems to speak of a couple of things. First off, a definite audience that investors are confident will keep growing and keep pushing others towards product conversions. Also, LiveNation’s hand in all this could be a contribution towards allowing the ecommerce solution to grow out in other directions, helping to promote concerts and shows, perhaps, instead of just relying on static goods and established brands. Hey, bands are brands.
Jack Cieslak grew up in New York State where he attended the New School, emerging with a degree in Creative Writing. Seattle drew him in with its focus on personal health and fitness, as well as the environment, and of course the great weather. Three-thousand miles later he is all dug in and ready to throw himself wholeheartedly into writing of all types - including reporting new developments in e-commerce, and places where social media and e-commerce cross paths. Jack revels in a challenge, whether it's writing, running, or lifting heavy objects - Jack says "bring it."
