Poshmark Exiting Overseas Markets to Focus on US
Poshmark is shuttering some overseas operations and paying greater attention to America’s recommerce market.
“In order to focus on Poshmark’s North America business and drive meaningful growth in its core markets of the United States and Canada, the company has made the difficult decision to close the Poshmark marketplace in Australia, India, and the U.K.,” Poshmark said in an announcement posted to its website Thursday (Oct. 19).
According to the announcement, Poshmark’s users in those countries can make returns until Oct. 26. And starting Nov. 2, “buyers and sellers for India, Australia, and the U.K. will no longer have access to the marketplace via the app or web,” the company said.
Poshmark had only opened its U.K. operation in January. It expanded to Australia and India in 2021.
“India is one of the fastest-growing eCommerce markets in the world and has a vibrant culture of resale, thrifting and pre-loved shopping,” CEO and founder Manish Chandra said at the time.
A report by TechCrunch — citing mobile intelligence firm Sensor Tower — noted that Poshmark has about 8.1 million monthly active users on its phone apps. However, the app’s popularity has declined in international markets, with under 500,000 active users in the past month across the U.K., India and Australia.
PYMNTS spoke with Chandra in August about the company’s recent strides in visual search via its newest consumer tool, and about how the strength of its community is making its investment in tech like AI worthwhile.
“Often, people will be inspired by a style they come across and not know the brand, product name, or even how to describe the shape or color,” said Chandra.
Despite the prevalent demand, current solutions frequently fail to deliver pertinent products corresponding to that inspiration.
In July, Poshmark introdued Posh Lens, a consumer tool designed to let shoppers search for secondhand styles with just a photo.
“Fundamentally, Posh Lens incorporates a machine-learning model for product identification and a product similarity model,” PYMNTS wrote. “Once an image is uploaded, Posh Lens employs these ML models to recognize various products within the image. It then locates listings resembling the identified products and seamlessly presents them to shoppers.”
Chandra said Poshmark undertook trials of Posh Lens in April to refine the visual search feature, creating a smoother avenue for shoppers to discover the styles they want. In addition, the search tool can help sellers get their merchandise seen by active shoppers.
“Sellers can take advantage of this feature by making listings easier to discover,” Chandra said.
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