Mobile marketplace Carousell extends reach with web platform

• Believes this will help its users reach a wider audience
• Making available web implementation details to open source community

 
MOBILE-first marketplace Carousell has launched its web platform, saying the move was in response to users and to help the community reach a wider audience, including those who access the Internet exclusively via desktop computers.
 
Its web platform has garnered over 140 million pageviews even before the official announcement, the consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplace company claimed.
 
“We are thrilled at the response that we’ve received for our web platform and we see this as a great opportunity for us to introduce a new platform to help our sellers reach buyers more effectively and to enhance our community’s Carousell experience on the whole,” said cofounder Quek Siu Rui.
 
Carousell had initially focused solely on mobile-centric market segments.
 
“Having a web platform is a golden chance for us to target a broader demographic and we’re excited to take this next step on our mission to inspire the world to start selling,” said Quek.
 
Similar to the mobile app, the Carousell web platform allows sellers to list and sell items via a user-friendly interface, the company said.
 
The web platform also mimics its mobile counterpart’s minimalist and clean design, which Carousell hopes will make browsing the marketplace a pleasure for users who are more comfortable on the desktop Web, it added.
 
Existing Carousell app users may log in to their web accounts with the same username and password. Web users may, likewise, log in to the app with the same login details to enjoy a full suite of features.
 
All messages and listings will remain the same on both platforms, the company said.
 
The Singapore-headquartered startup was founded in May 2012, and has raised US$6.8 million in funding so far, including US$6 million in a Series A round and an earlier US$800,000 round, both in late 2014.
 
“While we are first and foremost a mobile marketplace, we recognised that being more readily available across platforms removes barriers for some first-time sellers to try Carousell,” said cofounder Marcus Tan.
 
“We started developing the web platform after hearing our community's requests for it and we're really happy that they're finding it to be a useful companion so far,” he added.
 

Open source community
 
Carousell’s web platform is built on the web technologies like ReactJS which was developed by Facebook and then made available as an open source tool for engineers.
 
“We have greatly benefitted from the open-source community’s help in developing our web platform, so as part of our goals to cultivate a culture of sharing, we’d like to give back to the community by sharing knowledge on our technical implementations,” said Shawn Lim, Carousell’s web software engineer.
 
The company has made available details of its web implementation for the open source community here: http://engineering.carousell.com.
 
Its app is available as a free download for the Android and iOS platforms.
 
Related Stories:
 
Carousell lands SG$1 million in funding for SEA ambitions
 
Carousell continues ride with US$6mil Series A boost
 
C2C marketplace Shopee officially launches in Singapore
 
Ode to the desktop, or why mobile-first sucks
 
 
For more technology news and the latest updates, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Like us on Facebook.