Carousell to launch Pro app targeting sellers, real estate agents, and recruiters

Carousell co-founders Quek Siu Rui (L), Lucas Ngoo (M), and Marcus Tan (R). Photo credit: Carousell.

Carousell appears to have quietly unveiled its latest product. A new web page has recently gone live for Carousell Pro – a “new platform for professional sellers” to “create, manage, and analyze” their marketing efforts.

Set for an official launch on November 21, Carousell Pro will give sellers on the startup’s marketplace a range of analytics, management tools, and additional features. 

Among these is the ability to do deep-dive analyses of listings’ performance, top searches, and users’ peak hours. Sellers will also have access to an “Enhanced Chat” feature connecting them directly with potential buyers for live online chats.

Pro users will be able to add more than four photos to their listings on Carousell’s marketplace, and share their listings on social media platforms.

They will also be able to get personalized support from Carousell via in-app live chat, and will receive monthly email reports on their listings’ performance.

The firm is initially offering tailored Carousell Pro packages for employers and recruiters, and real estate agents, a company spokesperson told Tech in Asia. Carousell began hosting job ads as well as car and property listings in recent months.  

The spokesperson added that Carousell Pro will subsequently be rolled out to sellers in the site’s cars and services categories, though they did not specify a date.

Making money

This would seem to be in line with what Carousell co-founder and CEO Quek Siu Rui told CNBC in an interview last November, a few months after closing its US$35 million series B funding round. He said that the company was seeking ways of monetizing its marketplace through offering premium listings and services for a fee.

In May, it introduced “Bumps” – a paid-for feature that allows sellers to enhance the visibility of their listings.

As for Carousell Pro, sellers will be able to select from different price plans starting from around US$440 for a 12-month subscription. The packages – some of which the company has already begun pre-sales for – vary in terms of the numbers of free listings and “Carousell Coins” that subscribers get.

“Carousell Coins” are the marketplace’s internal virtual currency, which can be used to cover listing fees where they are required, or to purchase “Bumps”.

Which begs the question: With a token ecosystem already in place, might Carousell’s next big fundraising effort be an ICO? The spokesperson said: “We find blockchain innovation very interesting, but we do not have an ICO planned at the moment.”

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