ShopStyle is a digital shopping platform owned by Ebates.[1] Launched in 2007 as a Web search engine for fashion, it was thereafter transformed into a fashion marketplace and inspiration engine.[2] ShopStyle lists over 14 million products across apparel, accessories, beauty, home furnishings and kids' items. It drives $1 billion in gross sales to its global network of 1,400 retailers.[3] ShopStyle is also the commerce engine behind Collective Voice, a creator marketing company with over 14,000 bloggers, vloggers and social media users,[4] who use ShopStyle’s platform to earn money from the sales they drive to retailers.

History

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ShopStyle was thought-up by San Francisco-based UK expat Andy Moss[5] in 2006 while he was running local e-commerce website Cairo[citation needed] and noticed that shoes were among the most popular items searched for there.[6][7] The technology behind ShopStyle was created by a group of engineers Moss had met while working at Ariba (now SAP Ariba), including Trey Matteson,[8] Garrick Toubassi[9] and Mike Lenz.[10] The US website launched in February 2007 with a focus on aesthetics and user experience in an attempt to recreate a magazine-like experience digitally. It was variously described as an online equivalent of a shopping mall or a shoppable digital magazine.[7]

In September 2007 PopSugar Inc. (then Sugar Publishing) purchased ShopStyle for an undisclosed sum.[11][12] After the acquisition, ShopStyle focused its efforts on broadening out the product count, retailer expansion and becoming a search engine for fashion[13] By the end of 2015 ShopStyle’s global sites generated five million searches per week and listed 12 million products from 1,400 retailers.[14]

In 2017, ShopStyle was bought by Ebates, known now as Rakuten Rewards. [15]

References

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  1. ^ "Ebates Acquires ShopStyle From PopSugar Inc". www.businesswire.com. 2017-02-24. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  2. ^ "ShopStyle: Expansion takes it from search to digital marketplace". fashionandmash.com. 23 February 2016.
  3. ^ Shields, Mike (12 February 2016). "PopSugar Wants to Become the Mobile Shopping Cart for Fashion" – via Wall Street Journal.
  4. ^ Indvik, Lauren. "ShopStyle Launches Product to Help Influencers Monetize Instagram". Fashionista. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  5. ^ "Roadster's Andy Moss: A Different Kind of Silicon Valley Entrepreneur". Roadster Blog. 2015-07-06. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  6. ^ "Roadster's Andy Moss: A Different Kind of Silicon Valley Entrepreneur". roadster.com. 6 July 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Social Shopping at ShopStyle". businessoffashion.com. 28 April 2009.
  8. ^ "Trey Matteson". angel.co.
  9. ^ "Garrick Toubassi: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". bloomberg.com.
  10. ^ "Mike Lenz". angel.co.
  11. ^ "Sugar swallows Shopstyle — battle for women online continues". venturebeat.com.
  12. ^ Malik, Om (2007-09-25). "Sugar Buys ShopStyle, Changes Name". gigaom.com. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  13. ^ Kiss, Jemima (17 November 2008). "Elevator Pitch: ShopStyle wants to do online fashion just that little bit better". theguardian.com.
  14. ^ "ShopStyle Changing The Game For Bloggers & Retailers - Fashion Trends Daily". fashiontrendsdaily.com.
  15. ^ "Ebates Acquires ShopStyle From PopSugar Inc". Bloomberg.com. 2017-02-24. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
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