WeShop creates a first with community-owned set-up

BRITISH tech firm WeShop is launching itself as the world’s first communityowned social ecommerce platform, offering shoppers shares in the group every time they make a purchase.

It plans to give away up to 90% of its business to shoppers, and aims to list on the Nasdaq tech-heavy index in New York within 12 months, as it looks to take on the might of retail titans like Amazon.

Shoppers on the platform, which lists retail chains including Asos, Selfridges, Net-A-Porter, The Body Shop, eBay, B&Q and Made.com, will earn 20% of every purchase price as investment shares.

It is also offering 10% of the value of products in shares for purchases made through recommendations on the platform, while shoppers will further boost their stakes when they introduce new members, with 1% of the value spent by the new member given in stock.

Chairman Richard Griffiths said WeShop is a first-of-its-kind venture “pioneering the belief of share democratisation”.

He said: “The way we shop has changed dramatically in the last 10 years thanks to rapid advances in technology.

“While we’ve seen the dramatic growth of online shopping platforms, and their profits, none of them are designed to benefit the people who keep them going, the shoppers.

“That’s why WeShop was born, building a totally shoppable platform that is owned by the community.”

A private investor in many sectors, Mr Griffiths said he first had the idea for a community-owned shopping platform 10 years ago. “It strikes me as completely unfair that big tech and ecommerce have created enormous valuations for the benefit of a few people and their shareholders, but all of that value has been built by their users,” he said.