Shopular

About Shopular

Shopular operated as a mobile-centric platform designed to connect retailers with consumers through timely, location-based deals. Founded in 2012 by Navneet Loiwal and Tommy Tsai, the company emerged from the Y Combinator Winter 2012 batch. Both founders brought engineering experience from previous roles at companies like Shopkick, with Tsai also having worked at Loopt. Their background in location-based services and mobile commerce informed Shopular's core functionality.

The company's primary offering was a free mobile application for both iPhone and Android devices. Its key feature was a proprietary geo-targeting technology that automatically sent users notifications for sales and coupons when they were physically near a participating store or shopping mall. This 'run-in-the-background' approach was designed to be practical and avoid spammy notifications, alerting shoppers at the precise moment of relevance. The business model focused on providing national brands and retailers a new channel to engage with consumers who were already in a shopping mindset, aiming to drive in-store foot traffic and sales. By June 2015, the platform was serving 40,000 merchant locations and had surpassed 300 million deal engagements per month.

Shopular secured significant financial backing, including a $6.4 million Series A round led by Sequoia Capital in September 2013, which brought its total funding to $13.7 million. Other investors included Foundation Capital and Y Combinator. The app gained considerable traction, being named one of Time Magazine's 50 best iPhone apps of 2013. In March 2016, Shopular was acquired by Ebates, a subsidiary of Rakuten, for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition was a strategic move by Ebates to bolster its mobile commerce presence. Following the deal, Shopular integrated Ebates' cash-back offerings into its app, and founders Loiwal and Tsai remained with the company as general managers to lead the transition.