Anthill launches group buying site for SMEs

Anthill, the online publisher for SMES, has ventured into the group buying space with the launch of Antmart.

James Tuckerman, who founded Anthill in 2003, told Mumbrella that although collective buying is “a lot more complex” in the business space, there has been considerable interest in the new platform since testing it last week [Friday February 25^th].

“Most group buying sites are selling restaurants meals. We are selling products and services for fast growing businesses. But it is a logical extension of our brand. We tested Antmart with 500 users and pulled in 1000 users through visitor referals,” he said.

The Antmart business model is three-pronged; revenue will be generated based on percentage of sales made, trailing commission and a flat fee, Tuckerman explained.

However, he is making no revenue projections for Antmart yet. “We are taking a test, trial, measure approach to see what works and what doesn’t.”

Twenty advertisers have shown interest in Antmart so far, including three national brands, he added.

The new platform was partly a result of a story published in November 2010, which prompted the Anthill community to come up with “clever new ideas.”

Tuckerman revealed that his next venture in the coming months will explore how to combine the Anthill community with classified advertising and Facebook.

Anthill closed its print edition in 2009, going 100 per cent online.

In February this year, according to Nielsen Market Intelligence, the site recorded more than 34,500 page impressions.

James Tuckerman featured on the Mumbo Report in November 2009: