ModCloth, Now With Over $100 Million In Annual Revenue, Is Going Mobile First

ModCloth, the indie fashion site best known for its vintage-inspired dresses, is today offering the first look into its revenue situation since 2009. The e-commerce startup, which is backed by roughly $48 million in outside funding, says it did over $100 million in revenue last year, and is now growing faster than 40 percent year-over-year. That’s up from the $15 million it had previously reported in 2009. To compare that figure with other well-known e-commerce industry players: Fab.com did $120 million in revenue last year, and is now valued at $1 billion; Beyond the Rack estimated around $200 million for 2013; Rue La La had previously estimated $400 million in sales for 2012; and Gilt was at $600 million+ in 2012. Meanwhile aggregator Fancy speaks of sales differently, claiming around $100,000 in transactions per day. The majority of ModCloth’s sales are those for its well-known dresses, though other merchandise on the site, such as swimwear and shoes, will see seasonal bumps, explains company CEO Eric Koger, who founded ModCloth with wife Susan back in 2002. Half Of ModCloth’s Shoppers Coming From Mobile By Year-End News of the company’s progress comes at a time when the e-commerce industry as a whole is learning to adapt to the new mobile landscape, which affects not only where and when people shop, but also how. Earlier this year, ModCloth began tapping into this trend, launching first on iPad in February followed by the iPhone app release later that spring. Koger, who recently described ModCloth’s business as one where all future development will proceed with a “mobile-first” mindset, says that the company’s progress on mobile has gone well, speaking of softer metrics like “increased engagement,” as well as ones that more directly affect ModCloth’s bottom line. “We have more transactions and more purchases on the app – pretty significantly versus the mobile web app,” he says. “We’re predicting that more than 50 percent of our shoppers are going to be coming from mobile devices by the end of the year.” To put that in perspective, it was only last Christmas when the company noticed the surge in mobile visits had begun accounting for nearly 30 percent of ModCloth traffic. A year later, and they expect the number to grow to half. It’s a shift that is not without its challenges — and not just for ModCloth, but for any e-commerce company that wants to maintain

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