Commonwealth Bank invests $30m to help Little Birdie fly

The bank has helped this start-up land one of the nation’s largest ever pre-launch funding rounds.

Commonwealth Bank Group Executive Angus Sullivan with Jon Beros, co-founder and CEO, Little Birdie. Source: Supplied.

Australian big four bank CBA has poured $30m into a new online shopping start-up, Little Birdie, giving the company a $130m valuation and handing it one of the nation’s largest ever pre-launch funding rounds.

Little Birdie is aiming to build a ‘home page for online shopping’ according to chief executive Jon Beros, who said as part of the funding round CBA will integrate Little Birdie shopping content into its app, used by its 11 million Australian customers.

Mr Beros, a former long-time Scoopon executive, said the sizeable $30m round was a direct reflection of Little Birdie‘s potential. The company is preparing to launch its platform in June 2021.

“After more than a decade of building and running some of Australia‘s most successful online businesses, a group of us got together to solve what we thought was the next big challenge in retail: the information overload that shoppers were experiencing as a result of the growth in e-commerce,” he said in an interview.

“For retailers, this was leading to abandoned shopping carts and customer churn. We wanted to find a better way for customers to discover new offers and shop and for retailers, to drive highly qualified traffic to their site. The result was Little Birdie, a new business model that acts as a homepage for shopping online.”

He added that part of the funding will be used to fast track international expansion to support the company‘s ambitions to become the homepage for shopping around the world.

“Retailers and brands are looking for new and better ways to connect and engage with shoppers. Consumers are bombarded with messages and options on a daily basis making shopping online an overwhelming experience for many, leading to abandoned shopping carts and customer churn,” Mr Beros said.

“Through this relationship with CBA, we are able to amplify our shopping content with a new audience. For our retail partners, that provides yet another channel to drive qualified traffic back to their site.

“The deal also provides a great reference point for other possible partners who may wish to integrate Little Birdie‘s shopping content into their site to enhance user experience. Brand partnerships represent another growth pathway for the business.”

Commonwealth Bank group executive Angus Sullivan said Little Birdie‘s offering would add significantly to his bank’s mobile app.

“This partnership marks a shift in the e-commerce landscape in Australia, seamlessly blending banking and shopping and bringing the experience under one banner,” Mr Sullivan said.

“Customers appreciate the relationship between their banking and retail consumption and are increasingly looking to their bank to help them manage their money and save for their goals.

“We believe customers should have access to the world’s best digital experience and our partnership with Little Birdie will give customers access to exclusive industry-leading deals via the CommBank app.”