Taggle shuts its ecommerce operations

Ecommerce site Taggle which initially had started out as a group buying website has announced on its website that it is shutting down its ecommerce operations. Last year, Taggle had raised $8.5 million in funding from Battery Ventures and Greylock Partners.Their website reads "We started Taggle in June 2010 with US$1M in funding to build a sustainable and profitable business by getting the best service and product deals for our users. We have always believed in providing superior experience and value to our users. When we realized that service deals were not giving the best value to users, we quickly shifted focus to only products. Our users responded very positively to the shift and it reflected in our revenue numbers too, we grew our revenues 10 times within 3 months of the shift.

However, the current market conditions have many ecommerce players selling products at below cost price to lure users. The only way to sustain the business at this time is to get into a price war and burn a lot of investor money and try to outdo competition in a Last Man Standing game. This practice goes against our philosophy of building a sustainable and profitable company. Hence, weve decided to go back to the drawing board to figure out the best way forward. "

Ecommerce in India is growing at breakneck speed giving birth to many startups who want to grab a piece of the action. However due to increased competition and fragmentation this is a space which will see a lot of acquisitions , failures and innovations. Nonetheless it is an exciting space to watch out for and we will keep you posted on developments.