It’s no secret that e-commerce is growing like gangbusters. Last year alone, consumers spent a $142 billion on online retail spending. SneakPeeq, a startup launching today at TechCrunch Disrupt, aims to capitalize on this booming market, but adds a social twist.
SneakPeeq gets high end fashion brands to sell in season or upcoming items on the site, and somewhat aims to replicate the experience of shopping for items in a retail store. So similar to the way you flip over a price tag to look at the cost of at item at a store, SneakPeeq doesn’t tell you the price instantly when you visit a product’s landing page. You click a “Peeq” button to find the price, and every time you “Peeq” at the price it goes down, but once somebody buys the item, the offer goes away.
You can see what other members are peeqing at the price on the product’s page and see what those members bought from SneakPeeq. You can also get advice from friends and send products to friends as well. It essentially brings an element of gaming mechanics to the online shopping experience.
The startup makes money because they buy the merchandise at a discount to wholesale, and keeps margin above this price. SneakPeeq says brands like the offering because the discounted price is never broadly advertised, every shopper sees a different price, and the site provides social advertising. People can share items with their Facebook friends, and can publish these items to their feed.
SneakPeeq, which has raised $2.7 million in funding, launched in private beta to friends and family and was able to generate 1 million peeqs in a matter of months. Today, the site is launching to the public with 100 brands selling merchandise on the site, including Lucky Brand Jeans, Nicole Miller and Halston Heritage.
Here’s the presentation:
Q&A
Q: How do you curate products for a customer?
A: We grab your friends live data from Facebook and your likes to curate recommendations of products.
Q: I dont share my friends’ taste, why would that be a driver to buy?
A: For some friends, it is a driver for purchasing.
Q: If I buy something for someone else, how does that skew the personalized data?
A: It’s a problem for all retail sites, but you can set friends you trust to gather data from.
Q: How useful is the product before my friends are on it?
A: Use Friends’ Facebook likes to get started.
Q: What is the core problem you are trying to solve and how easy is this to achieve?