Social Shopping Site ThisNext Announces Redesign, New Focus
Santa Monica, Calif.–based social shopping website ThisNext (www.thisnext.com) unveiled a newly redesigned site on Nov. 17 and announced editorial-driven content geared toward its growing audience of women shoppers.
Following a year of more than 200 percent growth in traffic and revenue, according to Chief Executive Officer Matt Edelman, the ThisNext visitorship has grown to more than 6.5 million visitors per month, and the company has raised several rounds of funding.
Edelman did not disclose the funding amount, but according to tech news website TechCrunch, ThisNext raised $1.2 million of funding earlier this year, bringing its total funding amount to almost $9 million.
Edelman said the relaunch is an evolution for the company to bring a user experience that is more reflective of how women shop offline with peer-to-peer social influencers.
“Women’s online shopping is a feeding frenzy,” Edelman said. “That’s why we’re investing in experiences that create loyalty and passion among women shoppers for more than a day at a time. We’re going to make it fun, easy—and social—for women to organize shopping like they organize their closet.”
The site has introduced a new editorial initiative featuring a roster of influential style tastemakers with Editor in Chief Mary Alice Haney at the helm. Haney is formerly West Coast editor of Marie Claire, Allure and Domino magazines, as well as fashion editor for Harper’s Bazaar Paris.
The Tastemakers include Stacey Bendet of contemporary line Alice + Olivia; Minnie Mortimer, Estee Stanley, Beth Blake and Melissa Akey of Thread; Stephanie Johnson; and Elyse Walker. Each Tastemaker’s select products are featured as their special picks on ThisNext.
“The Tastemakers with whom we have partnered are the leaders in their field. Their unique voices and remarkable taste will inspire users and help them navigate the sometimes overwhelming worlds of fashion, home deacute;cor and personal style,” Haney said. “Especially online, women are overloaded. We just can’t keep up with all of the daily deal e-mails, the bloggers, the fashion sites, the banner ads everywhere we visit—it’s exhausting.”
According to Edelman, The Tastemakers program is one of several initiatives that the company has planned for 2011.
ThisNext launched in 2006 and also owns social-networking sites StyleHive and StyleDiary.—Connie Cho
