ScoopWhoop invests in content commerce app Hypd Store

Social media, which used to be just for friends and family to connect, has over time evolved into a spot where e-commerce purchases take place. This pivot into e-commerce was meant for the best but the platforms we have today aren’t created for a natural purchase experience. Impulse buying has become almost a pastime for many of us — we are the ‘see it, like it, get it generation’. However, social media and the platforms we use now are not tailored to the way we like to interact with brands and influencers, which has led to a disruption in the purchase cycle.

That’s where Hypd Store comes in — it’s a singular platform that is content-first, provides edutainment-based ecommerce discovery, and bridges the gap between getting excited and buying. For brands, it's a wholesome experience to get out there and sell to their target audience. It is consumer-friendly and sales-oriented so that the interactions seem natural and fun.

Hypd Store is also a creator-first platform that bolsters influencers to grow and make money via these edutainment content bits. For brands, it’s an immense opportunity to leverage their reach and fame — a win-win for all involved, making sales in enormous numbers. Hypd Store was beta launched in November of 2020 and has so far had approximately 20k downloads, 50+ brands with a positive review of 4.9 on the Google Playstore.

Ashwarya Garg

Ashwarya Garg, Co-Founder, Hypd, said, “We are delighted with the incoming strategic investment. In most cases, companies act as a content company or a tech company; fortunately, we are both. People love to buy, but don’t like to be sold. With Hypd’s unique content to commerce tech, conversions are up by 80%.”

Akshay Bhatnagar

Akshay Bhatnagar, Co-Founder, Hypd, added, “While we are helping brands by maximising returns on their content investments, we are also actively rooting for the creator economy by mapping every sale to a content inspiration and thus a creator’s cut.”

Sattvik Mishra

Sattvik Mishra, Co-founder and CEO at ScoopWhoop Media, which has invested in Hypd, commented, “We foresee a massive shift towards content-driven shopping and Hypd Store is bridging the gap between discovery and transaction with a focus on creators. As ScoopWhoop is a tech-enabled content platform, we realise there is a huge untapped market for content-driven e-commerce. A seamless experience would involve a modern content platform and a discovery engine that is complemented by the option of transacting on the same platform. ScoopWhoop and Hypd are well-positioned to provide this today.”

This investment comes at the perfect time. According to IAMAI Reports, India is becoming more mobile-savvy as we speak, nearing 500M mobile internet users. With ecommerce growing at a CAGR of 38.6% from FY’17 to FY’20, content to commerce channels are expected to make 15% to 20% of all ecommerce sales in next five years.

The founders, Garg and Bhatnagar, have rich experience under their belt, since together starting businesses right from their dorm room. They were previously Founding Partners at Innov8 Coworking, which was acquired by Oyo for $30 million. Prior to this, they worked as the Founding Core Team at Zostel/ZoRooms which raised funds from the likes of Tiger Global and Orios ventures. The new funding will bring in opportunities to perfect the product, grow a motivated team and indulge in marketing activities.

With an exponential rise in D2C brands within India, HYPD Store is tailored to be the platform of choice for brands looking to make an impact in their consumer’s mind. Some of the D2C brands HYPD has worked with since beta launch are TheManCompany, Doodlage, PeeSafe, Fast&Up, Khadi Essentials, Flatheads, etc.