Wrapp raises $15m Series B

There is a lot of debate at the moment about how the digital wallet battle will be won, and who will win it, with many believing that by the end of 2014 we will start to know the most likely winners and losers.

Social gifting, and its intersection with social marketing will be a key component of this battle, and Wrapp has so far succeeded in building the leading friend-to-friend marketing platform as well as the leading brand within the category, with the most traction in this space, with roughly ten times the activity of competitors. Crucially Wrapp has shown that it can drive millions of redemptions in offline stores using digital gift cards.

To further fuel their growth, Wrapp has therefore just raised a $15m Series B led by new investors American Express, Qualcomm Ventures and SEB Private Equity, with existing investors Atomico, Greylock and Creandum also participating.

Having proven the social gifting model, Wrapp is now starting to move beyond this, with a laser focus on providing merchants with more tools to engage and retain their customers. This will go beyond gifting, and naturally into areas such as loyalty and targeting, therefore enabling a deeper affiliation with each brand.

There is no question that the world will continue to become more and more mobile, driven by smartphones, as well as becoming more social. With more than 200 national and multinational retailers already using Wrapp’s platform, we believe Wrapp is in a prime spot to build upon its success to date, and continue to leverage these key trends, and to become one of the key pieces of infrastructure within this space.

The next couple of years are therefore likely to be an exciting time, as the mass consumer market continues to transition to a world where the distinction between online and offline continues to blur, from both a marketing and wallet perspective.