PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tern, a commerce technology company that aims to make returns easier for consumers, less expensive for merchants, and better for the planet, today announced its launch and partnership with Swap.com. The launch closely follows Tern’s raise of $5M in seed funding, led by Resolute Ventures and Rajesh Ramanand with participation from Tekton Ventures, Partech Partners, OVO Group, Cyber Mentor Fund, as well as a number of industry veteran angel investors.
Tern is reimagining the ecommerce ecosystem to be easier and more efficient for consumers and businesses alike. For consumers, Tern provides a convenient home pickup service that addresses the packing, printing, and transportation pain points inherent in the “first mile” of a return. For merchants, the company presents a compelling efficiency play as well; by minimizing the trips that an item has to make during a return, Tern provides merchants with both economic and environmental benefits throughout the supply chain. Convenience aside, the environmental benefit of consolidating the transport of retail returns across a region is substantial – Tern claims to be able to reduce the carbon impact of the first mile of returns by orders of magnitude when compared to the current hub-and-spoke return model.
“The way that we shop has evolved but the returns process is still catching up,” said Skye Spear, co-founder and CEO at Tern. “Merchants and consumers both benefit from making returns as consumer-focused as the shopping experience is today. Shoppers want the convenience to make returns from home – they try more brands and purchase more frequently from their favorites when they have the option of Tern’s Home Pickup service. Merchants benefit from having happier customers on the front end, while Tern provides customer, product, and logistical intelligence to minimize carbon and other return related costs on the back end.”
At launch, Tern announced its partnership with Swap.com, one of the largest online consignment retailers in the United States. Swap.com sits atop the booming e-commerce market – an industry expected to more than double to over $64 billion by 2024. Through the partnership, the company will use Tern’s Home Pickup service to give consignment clients a hassle-free pickup option to facilitate the sale of items on the Swap.com marketplace. Swap.com clients will also be able to use the Tern pickup service to simplify the return process for items purchased on Swap.com, and is one of the steps Swap.com is taking to make its customer experience more seamless and prioritizing customer experience across the platform.
“One of the things that sets Swap.com apart from other consignment platforms is our relationship with our customers,” said Antonio Gallizio, Board Member and Chief Commercial Officer at Swap.com. “Through our partnership with Tern, providing a home pickup service for consignment and return will give Swap.com just one more way to connect with our customers.”
Prior to the company’s launch, Tern successfully trialed its home pickup service through an invite-only beta within the San Francisco Bay area. By utilizing Tern, customers and merchants improved their returns experience and decreased the steps needed in a package’s logistical journey. To continue accelerating its growth in the sector, Tern’s new financing will be used to expand the engineering, sales, and operations teams and to bolster customer acquisition and service area coverage.
“Resolute is determined to back early stage companies that will make a significant impact on the world as we know it,” said Mike Hirshland, co-Founder at Resolute Ventures. “Tern is a prime example. We are thrilled to back Tern and Skye as his passion for the sustainable evolution of commerce will help both consumers and merchants leave a smaller environmental footprint.”
Tern services are already available in a number of key regions across the US, expanding with the recent investment. For more information or to download the Tern Home Pickup app, please visit: www.ternit.com.
About Tern
Tern is a commerce technology company based in the San Francisco Bay Area, working with merchants to streamline the reverse logistics process while giving consumers flexible and sustainable options for returns. The company is backed by top tier Venture Capital firms such as Resolute Ventures, Tekton Ventures, Partech Partners, OVO Group, and Cyber Mentor Fund. For more information about Tern, please visit http://www.ternit.com. Follow Tern on socials @ternreturns
About Swap.com
Swap.com is a leading online consignment and thrift shop offering pre-owned clothes, and accessories, for babies, children, women and men. The company is a one-stop shop the whole family can enjoy. Swap.com strives to redefine consignment services by making the process of buying and selling pre-owned goods more convenient, secure, and profitable. Swap.com shoppers can feel good that their purchases prevent waste by keeping merchandise out of landfills. Swap.com’s fulfillment center is now based in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, with marketing and customer support remaining in Chicago, Illinois, and development in Helsinki, Finland. The service was launched in 2012.
