Start-ups: Order Clothes to Office, Search Engine for Vintage
Read about The Lobby,
Gem Search and White Label, which are redesigning product discovery, so brands pay less for ads and marketing.
Marketing has been whipped into new form by experience-led Millennials and like-minded Gen-Zers, but with the rise of e-commerce, online advertising has grown competitive and expensive for brands wishing to scale their business.
Brands hoping to reach new audiences may be sending product into the void if communicated through an uninformed targeted ad on Facebook or Instagram. Sometimes that’s not even enough, as the proliferation of choice has left many consumers fatigued during discovery and after a while product ads start to look the same.
In response, several start-ups are hoping to capture new value for brands, through customer acquisition and distinctive editorialized viewpoints. It’s part of a larger effort to engage consumers more effectively and efficiently. Thousands of independent sellers from the U.S. and U.K. and more make up the Rolodex of Gem Search LLC, (otherwise known as Gem) the first search engine for vintage clothing. Gem launched at the end of May, and works by garnering results from sites such as Etsy, Farfetch, Heroine, Fashionphile, Luxury Garage Sale, Beyond Retro and others.
Prior to Gem, Finnish writer and street-style photographer Liisa Jokinen pioneered street-style photography in Helsinki to bring her efforts Stateside. She launched “NYC Looks,” after the success of her blog “Hel Looks.” In whatever she pursued, she always maintained an affinity for green behavior and the niche style eccentricities, attempting to map out New York City’s vintage scene before building Gem with her husband and cofounder.
Growing up, Jokinen claimed her family didn’t even own a wastebasket. Instead, items were composted or recycled — never tossed for trash.
No joining fee and free to use, Gem is focused on search and discovery. Through its partners’ affiliate programs, the app aims to produce revenue. Heroine, Grailed’s sister online marketplace for high-end women’s wear, “for enthusiasts, by enthusiasts” is also indexed by the app.
Education, on top of storytelling through vintage clothing, is an important component for acquiring newcomers to the secondhand market. In its Gem Stories blog, Jokinen hopes to educate consumers on care instructions, outfit pairings and must-see vintage shops, where she will map out key cities.
In the midst of packing all her belongings into storage to take an excursion to the West Coast, Jokinen plans to map the best vintage in Portland and Seattle for her city guides.
Jokinen’s longtime goal is to encourage non-sustainable shoppers to change their ways — and “start buying secondhand” through spotlighting the many vintage stores, and their product, in one place.