Week 8 (#3): Shoptiques.com

 

Small fashion boutiques target a select group of shoppers who are searching for original items from designers that are not found in big-name department stores. Boutique shoppers are limited in that these smaller boutiques are exclusive and can not be shopped without traveling to visit the retail locations. A solution to this is a start-up website called Shoptiques which aggregates inventory from local fashion boutiques across the country and puts it online. Shoptiques works with a network of local boutiques across the U.S. to integrate their inventory on the Shoptiques.com website, which shoppers can visit, browse, and make purchases. Shoptiques, which has a network of freelance photographers, takes high quality photos of the boutique items and uploads them to the website with descriptions and prices. Users can browse collections from boutiques across the country that they would never otherwise have seen or known about. In order to qualify, a boutique needs to offer products that can not be found in department stores; not even Bloomingdale's or Neiman Marcus.


The site launched with inventory from over 25 boutiques, from Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Chicago. The site finds these local boutiques by partnering with magazines like Elle to find interesting stores and also receives many leads via word of mouth recommendations. Currently, boutiques are organized by location, and neighborhood on the site, and the price point on items ranges from $50 to $300. You can also shop by category (bags, shoes, tops etc.).


If a customer chooses to purchase an item on the site, Shoptiques will immediately send the boutique an email with the order and a printable FedEx label with the customer’s address. Shoptiques handles all of the payment processing and takes an undisclosed fee from each transaction.
Eventually, Shoptiques wants to expand internationally and add many more boutiques. Although I wouldn't use this website, I did find the concept quite innovative and appealing to a certain segment of shoppers.


 


Source:
http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/21/andreessen-horowitz-greylock-back-marketplace-for-local-fashion-boutiques-shoptiques/