A new shopping platform wants to give Amazon a run for its share of the online shopping space—particularly where millennial buyers are concerned.
Founded by former Snapchat chief strategy officer Imran Khan, Verishop is eschewing the marketplace model for a more traditional—and, as the company would characterize it, trustworthy—online shopping experience.
In a statement, Khan compared Verishop to an online department store, pulling together trend-forward and luxury products from a number of popular brands. Verishop launched last week with nearly 1,200 styles from more than 160 brand partners, ranging from men’s and women’s fashion to home goods and beauty.
In a probable dig at Amazon, the company said, “When we look at the retail market in the U.S., we see a world of tradeoffs. Some places have world-class delivery experience, but the product selection is overwhelming and at times full of counterfeits.”
The company said Verishop will provide the technological efficiencies and product assortment the millennial shopper craves. Not to mention, the site provides free two-day shipping without a membership fee or a minimum order value.
The world of fashion e-commerce is perhaps ripe for a new, straightforward shopping platform. Aside from Amazon, which deals less in luxury and more in basics, shoppers have demonstrated an appetite for luxury aggregation and resale sites like The RealReal and Tradesy.
But when it comes to buying new, luxury products, consumers are often disappointed by the lack of assortment that struggling department store dot-coms have to offer.
On the other side, there’s the issue of trust and confidence when it comes to marketplace models like Amazon’s, which has been notoriously rife with counterfeiting and illicit selling activity.
Verishop aims to take the anxiety and guesswork out of browsing for a good deal, which has become a decidedly un-glamorous hallmark of the modern e-commerce experience.
Also true to the modern e-commerce experience is the ubiquitous use of influencers, and Verishop indicated that it will be no exception. The site’s Tastemaker shop features curated product feeds from popular style bloggers and more, like Tiffany Ma, Alex Costa and Jess Conte.
The site also features a Responsible shop, pulling together finds from brands committed to social and environmental responsibility.