Retail Technology Startup Stories: Richard Howarth, Commercial Director at online marketplace jog it on

RTIH gets the lowdown on UK-based online marketplace, jog it on, which launched in March.

RTIH: Tell us about yourself and jog it on

RH: I’m Commercial Director at jog it on, a new online marketplace that we launched in March this year. I’m very excited to introduce everyone to it.

Our platform aims to build a community where people can find great second hand bargains and also sell their no longer needed items.

We also aim to give back to Greater Manchester by partnering with EGG (Engage, Grow, Go), a fantastic charity which provides support to people experiencing homelessness in the North West.

RTIH: What was the inspiration behind setting the company up?

RH: We wanted to create a marketplace with sustainability in mind, which would act as a circular economy - reducing waste by keeping second hand goods in circulation.

One aspect of jog it on that we are very proud of is that there’s no platform fee to sell items apart from the PayPal fee - we don’t take a cut of your sale.

It gives people a bit more of an incentive to sell their item to someone else, rather than throwing it away if they don’t need it any more.

RTIH: What has been the industry reaction thus far?

RH: We’ve had a really positive reaction, which is great to see. We’ve seen lots of people making accounts on the site, and have had some good press about our launch too.

RTIH: What has been your biggest challenge/setback?

RH: One of our biggest challenges so far has been the background of economic instability right now, which I think all businesses are sensitive to - especially those who, like us, rely on people having enough disposable money to buy products.

However, I think that because our platform is very intentionally a space where people can find affordable items, we haven’t experienced that much of a problem attracting users to our site.

RTIH: What are the biggest challenges facing retailers right now?

RH: Right now, I think it’s the cost-of-living crisis and the ongoing instability of the UK economy.

Retailers who have a shopfront or physical premises are particularly at the mercy of the cost of energy, the cost of rent. It also seems like retailers and similar businesses have a lot of choice about what platforms and tools to use to market themselves, which can be daunting.

We’ve embraced TikTok which is such a fun and creative platform, and it’s been great seeing what the team come up with to promote our company - as we’re brand new, we have a good opportunity to experiment.

RTIH: What's the best question about your company or the market asked of you recently by a.) an investor and b.) a customer?

RH: A customer asked us recently what differentiates us from other auction marketplace platforms - it’s a good question as some people might think the market is a little crowded, but I truly think jog it on adds something new.

There’s no seller platform fees apart from a small PayPal fee, and also we’ve introduced a brand new feature that prevents ‘bid sniping’.

If any readers are not familiar with that term, it’s when someone makes a winning bid in the last few seconds of an auction, which has the double effect of stopping anyone else winning the item and of preventing the person who’s selling the item to make as much as they could reasonably expect for it.

On jog it on, every time someone adds a new bid, the auction is extended by two minutes, to make sure everyone who’s interested in bidding gets a fair shot.

RTIH: What can we expect to see from jog it on during 2024 and beyond?

RH: We’ll be setting up an app soon, so keep an eye out for that.

I think it will be a great way to stay in touch with our users - enabling us to, for example, send a push notification if someone bids on your item.