Becoming a regional Shopify

Do you still believe that offline commerce and e-commerce are 2 different worlds? (Not accepting No as an answer.)

Today I’ll talk about modernizing retail and I’ll be zooming on a regional Shopify in the making… guess who.

Becoming a regional Shopify… and modernizing retailers along the way

We’ve been with this startup from a very early stage; 3 tickets in total, the latest went into their recently announced Series B.

They began in 2017 with a traditional SaaS model and later shifted to SaaS+/Marketplace. Being in B2B Saas for SMBs enabled them to reap the rewards from the network effect and aggregate the demand. The growing demand then led them to build their own set of products – ZidShip, ZidPay and ZidApp Market – through which they were able to offer their merchants better prices and offerings, while providing their partners with continuous demand…

Now you know who I’m talking about. Zid.

Bricks and clicks

In the past, there was a misleading assumption that e-commerce shut down the real stores. “People used to believe that you open your online store to close your offline shop,” told me recently Mazen AlDarrab, the founder of Zid.

Well, the pandemic did turn online retail into the bread and butter of many offline retailers. In most cases, online was the only way to reach out to their customers. But online was more than that; it helped retailers analyze what their customers actually want and require. And then people returned to the physical stores, and the boundaries of e-commerce and offline commerce became forever blurred.

Enabling modern retail

“I started to disbelieve in e-commerce – unfortunately… or fortunately,” Mazen told me. Zid strongly believes there isn’t just “e-commerce” or “traditional commerce”. It’s modern retail, where all channels can be managed and optimized from one place with one partner. At the centre of modern retail is the customer and the merchant. And their experience.

The company’s Series B round signals a very important expansion in Zid’s vision, which is moving from being “an e-commerce enabler” to “a sector enabler”. That means Zid’s role has been extended beyond just offering and unlocking online/digital channels.

Factors of modern retail

Factor A: Active use of data in aiding and making business decisions
Factor B: System integration and/or synchronization within the retail cycle
Factor C: Improved marketing performance through data
Factor D: Omnichannel sales with synergies
Note: These factors are not independent and usually two of them are at force.

Examples?

Factor A: Active use of data

A famous discount shop Riyal Al Barakah (KSA) – a similar concept to Poundland in the UK – was initially strictly offline (11 branches). They launched their online store 2 years ago to serve cities and regions where they didn’t have offline presence. The online sales data they collected ever since has guided them in selecting the right locations for their future branches. In other words, the data enabled them to make their business decisions with more accuracy and confidence.

Factor B & C: System integration & Improved marketing

A store for bathroom supplies Reefi (KSA) started with Zid 4 years ago. Back then they were just an Instagram account with no offline footprint. Zid helped them reduce their marketing spending by analyzing the customer data and utilizing API conversion integration between Zid and Snapchat. Reefi got a better ROI on their marketing activities and today they’re planning on opening 15 offline stores.

Factor A & D: Active use of data & Omnichannel sales

A leading poultry producer Entaj (KSA) started their D2C during covid. Prior to that, they used to have one business model: selling indirectly to grocery stores. Today they’re not only selling directly to the end-customers through their online store, but they have also acquired insights into their new products (launched exclusively on their online store). Based on that data, they scaled the products on their other channels. What began as a pilot project turned into one of Entaj’s main directions going forward.

Here’s to many more such stories. We wish Sultan AlAsmi, Mazen & the Zid team the best of luck! (Although I think you may not need it anymore :P)

+2

We’ve made first two investments through our upcoming AVC Fund III: Nearpay and MoneyFellows. Welcome to the family! 🖤.

Modernizing NGOs

Zid partnered with Unifonic to enable more than 2,000 NGOs to start and scale up their online stores.

Enterprise tech of the Year

FlexxPay won Enterprise Tech Startup of the Year at Gulf Business’ GB Tech Awards 2022. Mabrouk!

British fashion

The Luxury Closet joined forces with the British Fashion Council as a new patron to support circular fashion.

310% of minimum goal raised

GoPillar’s crowdfunding campaign on Republic is still on. Support them here.

• Backend & Frontend Engineers at Classcard
• Account Manager (Saudi National) at Merit Incentives (Riyadh)
• BD Specialist at TruKKer (Jubail – KSA)
• Partnerships Specialist at Qoyod (Riyadh)
• Project Manager at Carseer (Amman)
• General Accountant at FlexxPay (Beirut)
• (multiple positions) at Lucky (Egypt)
• Pricing Analyst Manager at Cartlow (Cairo)
• Legal Associate at Retailo (Riyadh)

Anyone attending /MONEYtech @Grand Hyatt Kuwait on November 14? See you there…

Hasan