Shopping platform ShoppingPlus, a copycat of Germany’s KaufDA and a competitor of Lokata.ru on the Russian market, is experimenting with connected TV, having made its service available to users of LG’s Smart TV.
Just like Lokata.ru, ShoppingPlus shows the products currently sold in stores and their prices, as well as special offers. It also lists the participating local stores where the consumers can find the products and use discounts. But ShoppingPlus is the first to offer a TV app in addition to Internet and mobile access.
The startup claims its TV app has seen growing traction with no marketing or advertising efforts since its launch on October 1 of this year, with no less than 700 downloads and nearly 900 executions in a mere 15 days.
Founded in 2011, the company launched its web and mobile versions in February 2012 – two months before Lokata.ru appeared on the scene. Since then, ShoppingPlus claims to have attracted 250,000 unique online visitors per month.
The startup is currently in discussions with investors to secure a Series A round of financing with ambitions for further development across Russia and neighboring countries.
ShoppingPlus founder Elmar Fel, an Israeli citizen living in Moscow, was previously the CEO of a large Latvian FMCG distributor and a co-founder of an Israeli LBS tech company.
LG’s Smart TV has 500 different TV apps in Russia, from Yandex to meteo service to movie offers, as well as such global apps as Skype and YouTube.
