One 97 Communications Ltd, which runs e-commerce and payments firm Paytm, has invested an undisclosed amount in Noida-based mobile loyalty and data analytics startup Mobiquest Mobile Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Mobiquest’s flagship product M’loyal offers a self-served mobile-enabled loyalty, analytics and campaign management platform to brands across sectors – retail, food and beverage, fashion, malls, health and wellness, and hospitality.
The platform allows companies to recognise consumer behaviour and purchase patterns, and create targeted campaigns based on customer profiles.
“This association will power the Paytm-partnered merchant network to leverage Mobiquest’s data analytics and precision-marketing solutions in acquiring, engaging and rewarding its customers. Merchants will soon be able to design customised multi-channel loyalty programmes, which will enable them to retain and engage their consumer base, besides increasing their revenues,†Paytm said in a statement.
Paytm has a merchant network of over five million across all major brands and small shops on its platform.
“Over the last year, we have enabled our partner offline merchants with Paytm’s QR code-based payment solutions. In the next phase, we aim to enable them with tools that will help them drive incremental sales and revenues. Our partnership with MobiQuest will help us offer mobile-based loyalty programmes to our partnered merchants,†said Sudhanshu Gupta, vice president, Paytm.
Dexter Capital Advisor was the exclusive financial advisor to Mobiquest on this transaction.
Mobiquest was founded in 2008 by former FCS Software Solutions and Times Group’s BrandQuiver executives Vineet Narang and Sabina Kamal.
The M'Loyal platform is used by over 4,000 retail stores across India, Malaysia, Dubai and Singapore. The company claims to serve over 200 brands and over 80 million consumers. Some of its clients include, Dominos, Pizza Hut, Orchid Hotels, Fab India and Apollo Hospitals.
Last week, Paytm, which typically puts in $5-7 million in startups, had bought a majority stake in Mumbai-based curated events platform Insider.in.
In April, it had invested an undisclosed amount in Noida-based health-tech startup QorQL.
In 2015, it had led a $10-million funding round in autorickshaw service aggregator and hyperlocal delivery firm Jugnoo.
Paytm has also made a number of acquisitions. In December 2015, it had acquired Gurgaon-based services marketplace Near.in for $2 million.
In the following month, it had bought Delhi-based consumer behaviour prediction platform Shifu for $8 million.
In September 2016, the firm had acqui-hired e-learning marketplace EduKart for an undisclosed amount, and in November, it acquired online-to-offline shopping startup Shopsity.