Loop Raises $10M To Enhance eCommerce Returns Process

Ohio-based startup Loop closed a $10 million Series A funding round led by FirstMark Capital with participation by Lerer Hippeau and Ridge Ventures, Loop said in a press release on Tuesday (Nov. 12).

Launched in 2017 by Jonathan Poma and Corbett Morgan, Loop’s product Returns helps brands handle returns from online purchases. It has processed more than 2 million returns for over 200 brands on Shopify, including Allbirds, Brooklinen, Chubbies, FIGS, and Thrive Causemetics.

“Direct-to-consumer brands have an opportunity to pioneer a more enlightened era of consumerism, one in which we buy less that means more,” said Corbett, Loop’s CEO. “Working with these emergent and impactful brands over the last few years, we’ve recognized the profound power they have to build connectivity; we’ll use this funding to help equip these companies to change commerce for the better.”

Loop said it will use the funding to strengthen its Returns offering and develop customer partnerships to build consumer-facing and internal products.

“We believe that post-purchase is the next frontier of commerce,” said Poma, Loop’s president and COO. “The post-purchase journey is where brands and customers will build relationships with one another, and it’s where we’re focused — on Love after purchase.”

Direct-to-consumer brands spend $100-plus to acquire each customer and roughly 30 percent of eCommerce sales are returned.

“We’ve been fortunate to make great investments that have fit our thesis around the importance of discovery and infrastructure in e-commerce,” said Amish Jani, founder and partner at FirstMark Capital. “We believe a new segment is emerging around connection. Between the phenomenal product-market fit of Loop’s Returns product and the strength of their vision for the future, we believe Loop will be a very important company in the next generation of commerce.”

Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Loop has satellite locations in Toronto, Ontario and Waterloo, Ontario.

The 2019 Pitney Bowes Global eCommerce Study released earlier this month indicates that difficult returns are the main reason shoppers leave carts without buying. Despite consumer demand for low-risk returns and real-time payments, many customers and businesses are still reliant on complicated and slow methods of payment, which can lead to costly delays.