FirstMark Capital Leads $7.5M Round In Social Shopping Startup Sneakpeeq

Sneakpeeq, a social shopping startup that debuted at TechCrunch Disrupt last year, has raised $7.5 Million in Series A funding led by FirstMark Capital with participation from existing investors Bain Capital Ventures and Metamorphic Ventures. This brings the company’s total funding to over $10 million.

The startup aims to replicate the experience of shopping for items in a retail store with a social twist. 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. The site features daily boutiques that offer discounts on clothes, shoes, home accessories and more from 1,000-plus brands, from well-known names like Kate Spade and Puma to smaller designers and purveyors.

Sneakpeeq incentivizes engagement by turning user actions into discounts. By Peeqing, buying, sharing items on Facebook, and more, you earn badges on Sneakpeeq, which can then be applied for discounts on an items. Each boutique has a leaderboard where fans can compete by peeqing, sharing, and buying products. Additionally, every member on Sneakpeeq builds a discovery profile through peeqing, sharing and buying things. Users can also see who shares common interests in various product categories including Taste (gourmet foods), Living (home), and Style (fashion and accessories).

The startup’s key engagement metric is defined as the sum total of peeqs, loves and shares in a month. When Sneakpeeq launched last year, the startup was at 78,745 engagements per month. In January 2012, Sneakpeeq saw 600,641 engagements. And in March the startup is past 2 million engagements and the month is not over just yet. And founder Henry Kim tells us the startup is consistently doubling sales every month.

FirstMark partner Rick Heitzman, who is joining Sneakpeeq’s board is extremely bullish on the startup’s prospects as a social shopping destination, saying “We expect Sneakpeeq to revolutionize online shopping, and become the definition of ‘social shopping’.”

The startup has also worked with Pinterest power users and YouTube celebrities where they can curate their own boutiques. Eventually, the company will connect Sneakpeeq curators with brand partners to design products.

The new funding will be used towards brand growth and product development. Sneakpeeq plans to launch tablet and mobile apps soon, and will be furthering its expansion in Asia.