Top VC Firms in Ecommerce Share Investing Criteria, Next Priorities

• The e-commerce sector has changed drastically in 2021.
• For VC firms, that means lots of opportunity to invest in startups rising to the challenge in 2022.
• We reached out to the firms who made the most deals in e-commerce in 2021 to see where they’re placing bets next. 

While 2020 was a breakout year for e-commerce, 2021 was a year when the industry faced new challenges and came up with increasingly innovative solutions. 

Entrepreneurs are exploring new ideas around how Web3 and the metaverse will affect how consumers buy things online. At the same time, industry insiders are talking about solutions to logistics and supply chain issues that have plagued brands both big and small this year. DTC brands are also rewriting the book on customer acquisition as Apple’s recent privacy changes have made it more difficult to reach new consumers.

All of these changes have come as consumers continue to grow more comfortable buying things online, with eMarketer analysts estimating that more than $933 billion will be spent online in the US in 2021, up 17.9% year over year.

Insider reached out to the top VC firms investing in e-commerce to get their take on where the sector is headed. We emailed the top 28 firms that have made the most deals in e-commerce in 2021, based on data from PitchBook. Of the 28 we reached out to, 17 responded with their thoughts. 

The investors told us where they’ve placed bets this year, what they look for in an investment, and what they’re excited to invest in next year: