Retailers pay out billions of pounds every year to shopping websites through affiliate fees. Now haveyouseen will enable that money to go direct to the individuals making the recommendation.
The business was launched in 2013 and is backed by Michael Edwards, Doug Scott, Hamish Anderson and various other investment professionals. The CEO has been named as entrepreneur and former Hedge Fund advisor at Merrill Lynch, Ben van Rooyen and the chief marketing officer as Greg Page, formerly Vodafone.
van Rooyen says: “The landscape of social media and e-commerce has now converged, meaning it is not only acceptable but expected that any new purchase is backed by the recommendation of a friend.
“haveyouseen not only caters for the masses but is also a powerful tool for bloggers and other influencers to amplify their reach through the platform’s incentivised network effect. Unlike others, we reward these influencers sales up to six degrees of separation.
“Our platform provides significant benefits for everyone within the commerce ecosystem. From regular internet users and professional affiliates, to global brands and merchants.
“We already have the backing of more than 3,000 big-name retailers with more joining every day.
“Our beta launch took place a few weeks ago and take-up has been great. Our developers are now ironing out any creases ready for our 11 September launch.”
Charities too can profit, van Rooyen explains: “We understand that some people may not be interested in a commission but enjoy the rest of the haveyouseen experience, which allows them to collate all the items they like from all over the internet into one, easy-to-find shoppable location.
“However, this is a great opportunity for our members to contribute to charity by donating their earnings to the charity of their choice.”
“Unique, rich data will also be a valuable by-product as haveyouseen is able to identify not only brand advocates, but more importantly influencers within the social graph – a problem that marketers have struggled with since the proliferation of ecommerce.”
Kaynak : 