Shopping can be an enjoyable experience. Whether you're purchasing a new bedroom set or new shoes, it is always fun to purchase new items. However, sometimes you wish you had someone to give you honest feedback about a product or clothing before you take it home.
Shopswell.com is a new crowdsourced website which started off as a place for you to share photos of your favorite items, similar to pinning on a Pinterest board. The site later incorporated a question and answer area where you can post a photo of a product and ask other shoppers' opinions of it or ask for feedback about what color to paint your living room.
"We realized there was something that needed to shift in a more human factor and how product recommendation between friends was more valuable than an online review," said Sondra Drahos, director of social media for shopswell.com.
The site launched in May of 2015 and the community aspect is definitely what sets it apart. Drahos describes it as bringing your girlfriends along to shop with you.
This is how it works: First, register on the website and, next, you create a profile, posting your favorite items or posing questions. Other users can then click on the photo of any item of their choice and are taken directly to the website where it can be purchased. You can ask questions about the best running shoes, cute summer dresses or best blender, and other shoppers will comment.
"Because we know there is a lot of frustration in the shopping experience," said Drahos, "we are trying to build a community we want to be the place where people come and the first place people come to start shopping."
When shopping, you want to be able to picture yourself either wearing an item or using an item. You will have various questions running through your head such as: Will these shoes hurt if I stand in them for too long. or is this dress good to where for an outdoor wedding?
"All these factors play a part and you're really not going to be able to get that information from a review," said Drahos. "To be able to ask that [question] and to get that feedback almost instantly is so much better."
Shopswell.com is definitely a community where shoppers can gather with others, but that is not the only benefit of this site. The site's new rewards program rewards shoppers by paying them once a month with up to $10,000 per month for being helpful and assisting others with making better shopping decisions. So the more helpful you are, the more likely you are to get rewards -- and it's not limited to answering questions; it also applies to producing content.
"We do have people that are coming and building great articles around a new brand that they have experienced," said Drahos. "We have people that are coming to the site and want to create those types of lists and creations and they happen to be making money because other people are engaging with that."
Join Shopswell.com and start making smarter shopping decisions today.
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