Startup Marketplace Virtual Products "my item" Claims Business Growth During Pandemic

apart service E-commerce which experienced business growth during the Covid-19 pandemic, the gaming industry also experienced a significant increase. In mid-March 2020 the world's largest digital gaming marketplace platform, Steam, reported the largest increase in user numbers in its history. They claim that in the span of 24 hours, there are more than 20 million active users on Steam, whether for gaming or simply online.

As a platform marketplace which serves the purchase and sale of digital products, especially game needs such as goods, accounts, and vouchers; My item claims to have experienced rapid growth. Since March 2020, their monthly active users have increased by 78%, with the number of new registrations experiencing a sharp increase of up to 97%. In addition, the ratio of users visiting my item for the first time also increased, from 70% to 76%.

Founded in 2014, Itemku, run by Five Jack, helps gamers to sell and buy virtual products in their favorite games.

To DailySocial Itemku Chief Product Officer Virdienash Haqmal said, during 2020, the company's monthly GMV increased by 15-20%, as well as revenue. Customer growth also increased by 60% from January to June 2020. Meanwhile, for marketing activities, the company lowered budget up to 80%.

"Currently the company focuses on affiliate marketing (my item Creators Guild) which low cost-high impact and have snowball effect to the number of new registrants and buyers."

Similar products can actually be purchased at several marketplace another popular. For example through Tokopedia, the platform allows players to buy virtual assets using credit. Another convenience is also provided by the GoPay platform, which is connected to the service payments on Google Play.

Fundraising plan

Previously the company has launched an application that can be downloaded on the Play Store. Application usage has also increased during the pandemic. The company noted the number of downloads increased from an average of 2800 to 5100 per week, or about 77%.

For itemku users, both buyers and sellers mostly like features that simplify and speed up the shipping process. In my item, there is an "Instant Delivery" feature which allows the system to send the seller's products automatically after payment. This feature is only available for voucher products. For top-up products and other virtual items, a 10 Minute Shipping Guarantee is available which is only available to sellers with good sales records.

"From the business side, the company is conducting research to reach the physical product market so that it can become a hobby marketplace. Meanwhile, for the target that is still to be achieved this year, itemku wants to improve services for sellers and become a marketplace for hobbies. Currently the company is also in the process of raising funds," said Virdienash.

In 2017 my items have been pocketed fresh funds worth $1,2 million (around 16 billion Rupiah) from 500 Startups and several venture capital Unnamed South Korea. The funding obtained is used to dominate the Indonesian virtual item market while expanding into the Southeast Asian market.