@Alisamm1984 how many stores and brands do you currently support and are the products coming directly from the merchants themselves? I was digging around and could see that a lot of people had already been building collections of products from department stores to online retailers.
@moesheikha we currently support about 1500+ brands & stores but are adding new merchants everyday. As for the products, they come directly from the merchants e-commerce sites - so the goods are 100% authentic and backed by each's return policy guarantee (which means you can actually return/exchange) in store or via mail. Also in most cases the merchants offer free shipping based on meeting order minimums which we pass along to you.
The goal is to support almost every affiliate program regardless of where you like to shop, allowing you to be rewarded under one loyalty program. This will enable us to begin to cater offers and services provided to you based on your personal preferences (style, taste, stores your interested, etc.).
@Alisamm1984 I was checking out the deals section on Android and saw nearby stores showing great discount coupons based on my geo. Its awesome, how are you guys doing that?
@oliver_syson Thanks Oliver! As crazy as this sounds, we actually had to plot (lat/long) the locations to the top 200 national retailers and then partner with Valassis (one of the largest discount & coupon providers) & another stealth mode startup to power the online and in-store offers you see. We want users to treat Kikr and the entire service as more of a utilitarian tool that shoppers will come to rely on when it comes to shopping in general via mobile. A big part of that is being able to make personalized recommendations based on your past browsing and purchase history and the deals section is a step towards the real time offers and deals you will be able to take advantage of.
@brettdem Great question coming from you considering that you had seen Kikr early on.
The marketplace, until today, had a void that remained to be filled where users have the ability to curate collections of products and items they are interested in direct exchange for monetary incentives and/or personalized offers. The kickbacks will be a great way to connect with a Gen Z & Millennial demographic that's very active socially when it comes to self expression & style - @mykikr fills that void that others in the space do not address.
We are the 1st social marketplace focused on retail with a rewards loyalty program. Whether the curation of products be for either immediate purchase or at a later time, users can now do so in anticipation of receiving rewards, personalized offers or deals in real time. A holistic shopping program tying together the online and in-store shopping experience was non-existent let alone disconnected, as of now every major retailer (Zara, TopShop, PacSun, etc.) can only cater to each customer separately if they DL their one-off app.
Kikr cultivates a gender equal platform marrying together social influence via fashionistas, stylists and bloggers together with the latest products offered by the top 1500+ global brands and stores. By providing users, both influencers and everyday shoppers alike with a modeled loyalty program that rewards everyone almost everywhere they shop - the team has built a powerful tool for customers and merchants alike to best leverage customer data such as product interests and purchases to offer in-store deals based on what YOU the customer likes. Never has their been a social commerce marketplace tying together online/in-store purchases with mobile payments, and considering the landscape and proliferation of the technology infrastructure now in place - the team believes it's the right time for the next platform to emerge thats dedicated to tying the shopping experience across all brands and stores.
As for 2016 plans, we plan on hosting a number of strategic partnerships between influencers and brands to help drive awareness along with foot-traffic to key partner store locations. By helping incubate these collaborations between influencers and brands/stores through @mykikr , we will produce a type of organic growth that will really give the program legs.
Our teams vision for the product and service is that Kikr will become the tool that a savvy young shopper will come to rely upon with top of mind awareness when it comes to shopping anywhere.
Carpool VC - S2E3, Prerna Gupta, Founder/CEO of Hooked