New York-based startup PrettyDamnQuick (PDQ) has raised $25 million in Series A funding to expand its e-commerce platform, which provides retailers with customizable shipping and checkout flows to rival Amazon. The funding round, led by Peakspan Capital, brings the company's total raised capital to $38 million.

Founded in 2020, PDQ has already processed around 30 million orders each month, amounting to $4 billion in gross merchandise volume to date. The company projects that it will process 300 million orders by the end of 2025. With some 200 customers on its books, PDQ is well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for e-commerce solutions that can compete with Amazon's dominance.

The e-commerce industry has been experiencing a period of adjustment after the rapid growth following the COVID-19 pandemic. As people returned to brick-and-mortar stores, demand dropped, and economic uncertainty led to reduced spending. However, recent holiday shopping figures suggest that companies like PDQ might still benefit from providing shoppers with better discounts without cutting into retailers' margins.

PDQ's platform addresses a critical gap in the market, providing e-commerce companies with the tools to customize and test different shipping and checkout flows. This is particularly appealing to independent retailers who want to build their own online presence, rather than relying on Amazon's marketplace and technology. PDQ's solution speaks to a spirit of independence that has driven the growth of companies like Shopify and Stripe.

Avi Moskowitz, PDQ's CEO and founder, conceived the idea for the startup based on his experience running a craft brewing business in Israel. When COVID-19 hit, his company, BeerBazaar, saw a surge in online orders, but struggled to provide an Amazon-like experience for its customers. Moskowitz and his team set out to solve this problem, realizing that it required a platform that could manage the entire customer journey, from store entry to checkout, fulfillment, tracking, and delivery.

Today, PDQ's platform integrates with online stores built on Shopify, but the company plans to use some of the funding to expand to cover other sites. PDQ's main objective is personalization, allowing every shopper to experience a customized checkout process. The platform orchestrates activities with existing order management, shipping, and payment partners, and provides an interface to work with a range of carriers and third-party logistics providers.

While PDQ is not the only company addressing this aspect of the e-commerce flow, its solution is well-positioned to coexist with other players in the market. The real competition lies in platforms like Amazon, which offer an alternative to retailers by removing the need to think about independent products altogether.

With its latest funding round, PDQ is poised to continue its growth and expansion, providing retailers with the tools they need to compete in an increasingly crowded e-commerce landscape.