Top US RetailTechs

While e-commerce has been growing since its inception, COVID-19 pushed it to new heights as people avoided in-person shopping. In 2021, while people continue to work and shop online, retail technology shows no signs of slowing down.

The United States is home to many influential tech hubs. New York, San Francisco, Atlanta and Boston are just a few examples of the most innovative tech cities in the world. It’s no shock that some of the most ground-breaking technological breakthroughs have occurred in the US. It can be difficult to keep up with the various start-ups as the market grows. To help, we have compiled a list of some of the top US RetailTech start-ups in 2021:

Standard Cognition – San Francisco

Standard Cognition is transforming retail with autonomous checkout. Their computer vision and AI-powered solution can be installed quickly and easily. Standard enhances existing retail environments by integrating with existing technology. They collaborate with retailers to have a better understanding of product performance as well as to provide real-time inventory updates. For retailers who want autonomous checkout but don’t want to create additional locations, Standard’s technology is a huge step ahead. Privacy, scalability, experience, adaptability, and security are the company’s five guiding principles.

With the single largest investment for an autonomous checkout or pure-play computer vision company, Standard becomes the industry’s first unicorn at a billion-dollar valuation.

Last funding round: Series C $150M

Total Funding Amount: $238.5M

Reply.ai – New York

Reply.ai is a platform that integrates AI-powered self-service to retailers’ existing customer service software. Retailers may utilize the platform to create chatbots that function across all messaging apps, eliminating the need for in-house coding. The bot can then automate client discussions, with a human taking control only if/when necessary. Reply.ai can take payments for purchases directly through Facebook Messenger.

Reply has won 4 Cannes Lions, 4 Clios, and is the only startup to make Forrester’s “Top 10 Chatbot Platforms for Enterprise”.

Last funding round: Seed Round $2.3M

Total Funding Amount: $3.7m

WAIR – San Mateo

The WAIR Fit Advisor, the company’s size and fit suggestion service, is built on a unique dataset of millions of 3D body scans. The Fit Advisor analayzes a shopper’s body measurements and suggests the best-fitting size in every product a company sells. WAIR adds value at every stage of the apparel process. E-commerce retailers typically report a 28 percent increase in conversion and a 21 percent reduction in size-based returns after incorporating WAIR’s Fit Advisor, resulting in a 40X ROI.

WAIR helps optimize the business around the body dimensions of its customers, which not only boosts net revenue opportunities during the shopper journey but also increases operating income.

Last funding round: Unknown

Total Funding Amount: Unknown

FLIP – Los Angeles

FLIP is a social commerce platform that offers a new beauty purchase experience. Users can browse social media-style content supplied by other users to locate and buy beauty and wellness products. Shoppers can utilize FLIP’s proprietary technology to post video reviews of their purchases or to create shoppable live shows, receive commissions on sales produced by their posts, and track post-performance in real-time.

Customers can become members of the Flip community and vote and receive shopping rewards while scrolling through the Flip feed.

Last funding round: Series A $24M

Total Funding Amount: $31.8M

ByondXR – New York

ByondXR is a retail technology company that created an immersive commerce platform to assist brands, retailers, and wholesalers in creating unique virtual customer experiences and shoppable 3D environments that form a strong and memorable connection with the brand and significantly increase conversion rates.

ByondXR’s platform now offers the most advanced technology in the market, as well as the shortest loading speed in the industry, allowing for seamless experiences that can be viewed on any device and at any time.

Last funding round: Seed Round $7M

Total Funding Amount: $7M

Cart.com – Houston

Cart.com is an e-commerce company that offers a fully integrated and owned suite of software, expert services, and infrastructure to help businesses grow online. The company provides business solutions to over 2,000 e-commerce brands and has seen a 400% increase in revenue since the beginning of the year. They’re on a mission to reclaim control of firms’ e-commerce journeys and customer relationships.

Cart.com now provides a comprehensive and growing set of integrated e-commerce solutions enabling businesses of all sizes to work with a single partner to gain access to the same capabilities as the world’s largest e-commerce companies.

Last funding round: Series B $98M

Total Funding Amount: $143M

Afresh – San Francisco

Afresh is a fresh-first supply chain operator that uses AI-powered demand forecasting to advise food retailers on what to stock. Its platform employs human-centered artificial intelligence to deliver precise item-level forecasts of future demand, reducing waste, maximizing freshness, and increasing profit. The company’s intuitive app enables teams to work smarter and faster since it automates tedious tasks and makes everyday workflows more efficient.

Afresh was selected as honorable in the food category of fast company’s 2021 world-changing ideas awards.

Last funding round: Series A $13M

Total Funding Amount: $32.8m

As market leading eCommerce recruiters, we help start-ups and scale-ups looking to grow their workforce. At Storm5, we have a vast network of skilled Ecommerce and RetailTech professionals looking to join innovative retail technology firms, so get in touch and one of our team members will walk you through the process.