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Has Yaysay Brought the Fun of Off-Price Selling Online?
Yaysay, a mobile shopping app that recently launched in beta, draws inspiration from social media, dating apps, and gaming interfaces to “bring the thrill of off-price treasure hunting online.”
Founded by the co-founders of Casper and executives from Gilt Groupe and Stitch Fix, Yaysay promises online fashion shoppers a gamified “5-minute daily dopamine boost.”
“While mobile shopping is convenient, it is generally uninspiring for brands and consumers alike,” said Lindsay Ferstandig, CEO of Yaysay and former Stitch Fix exec, in a press release. “With Yaysay, we are creating an elevated brand experience that brings the joy back to shopping, transforming deals from the most covetable brands into addictive bites of fun.”
Using artificial intelligence, Yaysay once a day offers a limited number of personalized deals tailored to the user’s interests. Once users have finished swiping through those items, they have to wait until the app refreshes with new deals the following day. “That’s very different than what exists online, where you just scroll endlessly,” explained Philip Krim, co-founder of Yaysay and former CEO of direct-to-consumer mattress brand Casper. Deals currently include brands such as Acne, ALC, Chloe, Isabel Marant, Ganni, Loewe, and Vince.
Once the user taps the “Start Shopping” button, the games begin. Similar to dating apps, users swipe right to add items they’re interested in to their shopping cart. With each item being sold in limited quantities, there’s always a threat the item may be sold out before it’s swiped.
“Our AI selects a limited number of items per user per day, and our users have to buy the items before others do,” Ferstandig told TechCrunch. “Everything we buy has very limited quantities because of the deep discounts we secure.”
After being added to the cart, the product is held for 30 minutes, blocking it temporarily from being purchased by others. Similar to how Ticketmaster has a countdown to provide time for users to complete a ticket purchase, users have 30 minutes to buy their item or it will be gone.
Shoppers likely won’t get another chance to purchase any discarded item, since the inventory mix changes every day. Yaysay said in its press release, “No two shopping days are the same on Yaysay. The app boasts a constantly refreshed feed of substantial discounts on sought-after brands, offering users a new treasure hunt every day with an air of ‘get it or it’s gone.’”
For brands, Yaysay promises to offer a sustainable solution to clear excess inventory with high conversion rates and eliminate the need for price comparison.
The founders believe fashion fans will regularly engage with the app to make it a “5-minute daily habit,” similar to other online activities. Yaysay noted that recent statistics show 71% of millennials regularly check social media sites multiple times a day, and half use dating apps daily.
“The $100B+ off-priced retail market for new goods has been relegated to offline stores until the launch of Yaysay,” said Krim in the press release. “Thanks to technological leaps in AI, supply chain technology, and mobile app development, we are finally able to bring the ‘treasure hunt’ experience online.”
Discussion Questions
Does Yaysay hold enough appeal to become a “5-minute daily habit” for a wide range of fashion shoppers? What about its potential for brands as a clearance channel?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Ken Morris
Managing Partner Cambridge Retail Advisors
David Weinand
Chief Customer Officer, Incisiv
This seems to conflict with the sentiment many younger people have today: more environmentally aware, more mindful, financially challenged. In more challenging times, shopping as an addiction just seems out of place. No doubt this will resonate with some, but the gamification of shopping just seems over-the-top. To my eye, their site looks like it was designed to appeal to a very young demographic. That’s even more problematic, I think. There will be brands that will be happy to try any channel that will sell their goods, but ultimately ‘sell through’ is what matters.
Yaysay has brought fun—and panic buying—to shoppers everywhere. It’s an interesting concept and a potential brand clearing house for excess inventory—really creative and turns traditional shopping on its head. In fact, I think this is the perfect storm of gamification, off-price mania, and, as I mentioned with the panic thing, fear.
On (virtual) paper, this looks like a can’t-miss play. But the target market, likely Gen Z and Millennials, don’t like anything unsustainable. This encourages impulse buying, which leads to impulse shipping, etc. But, just as price is often the underlying number one driver of purchase decisions, probably the game-playing, bargain-hunting, fear-of-loss instincts will win the day here.
I’m not entirely sure this is the equivalent of an online version of off-price retail. The point about off-price is that consumers can treasure hunt through a large volume of product to find things of interest. Yaysay curates a small selection of products and uses gamification to stimulate engagement and interest from shoppers. It’s a very interesting concept, not least because giving consumers one chance to buy and time-limiting their decision making kind of flies in the face of good customer service, even if they do nudge people into buying. I’d be interested to see what conversion rates and returns levels are like compared to regular online apparel sites.
It’s an interesting concept, although it seems to be using the social media tactics that are facing so much backlash right now. FOMO, Dopamine driven buying, etc. It may work but I wouldn’t say it’s good for society.
Well put David. It’s these tactics that give it a foul taint.
FOMO + gamification + scarcity + retail therapy = a winning combination for both sides!
Conceptually, Yaysay’s online promotion of off-price items seems like a smart approach, as it marries the thrill of the treasure hunt with online and social media. The risk is that with a limited selection, if the products don’t seem interesting to consumers after a week or so, they will disengage and probably won’t return.
I have no idea.
I love it. Explore + Experiment…!!! Treasure hunt + value + extreme scarcity + time sensitivity + FUN. No pressure to buy, just a limited window. Buy it quickly or lose it. Now I wonder what the return rate will be…???
This is discovery at its best, and emulates the existing businesses of TJ Max, Ross, Burlington, and other liquidators- in an online phenomena. However, shoppers already have this to some degree across so many marketplaces touting low end products. If they could build a reputation to sell only high quality products at huge discounts, the prospects would be better. The lower price value is exciting- but also will be tied to liquidations, fenced goods, and limited product availability. Gamification has to be astute and configured to the higher end, older crowd as they have the resources to make profitable impulse buys- but not regularly. It may play well as a clearance channel, but will need a separate delivery mechanism than gamification.
The economics of this may well come down to buyer’s remorse and the percent return rate. When you treasure hunt in a store (notice there is no online shopping for Ross – they want you in store) you at least eliminate some of the issues of ‘wrong color, wrong size etc, If you want to return you go back to the store (where it quickly goes back on the shelf for is disposed of) where exchange buy something else comes to play. Online impulse buying I am betting will yield larger returns, and with this model inventory returns will take a while to process and make the goods that can be available for sale again, slow to move back online. Who thinks this model would work well if there was an all sales are final, or a 25% restocking charge?
Sounds like fun, but let’s be real here: Off-price shopping is about the thrill of the hunt, and the hunt isn’t as thrilling online as it is in-store.
I like the sense of urgency and the personalized aspect of it, but I don’t see consumers being disciplined enough to be habitual with this.
Yaysay’s mobile shopping app has effectively brought the Ross Stores, TJ Maxx, and Marshals treasure hunt shopping experience to the digital age. Once you layer in the gamification elements, personalized offers powered by AI, and a more exclusive curated assortment experience, this is clearly different from your parent’s off-price retail store. Additionally, layering in the countdown clock only raises the fear of missing out elements that Ticketmaster and other apps have capitalized on.
While by no means will Yaysay be in any position to be a competitive threat to the off-price retail giants, this is a very intriguing concept that layers in the exclusivity and limited-time offers that Gilt and others have via shopping apps. It will be fascinating to see how this offering scales over time and how Yaysay can execute and deliver value to the next generation of consumers.
All good points. And while this won’t put any other discounter out of business, it fills a niche – hot deals on fashion, extremely limited time, without the hassle of going to the store or scrolling endless aisles.
Everything looks ready for Yaysay to thrive – the right customers, promises of quick views, limited quantities, and an easy choice. This strips away hassles and time commitment in shopping bigger discounters into something super easy, low stress, even fun.
The key will be making sure each day offers curated brands, good fashion and perceptions of a hot deal. The buyers and merchandising team must bring their A-game everyday. It cannot be off-loaded stuff customers might see in large stores.
In order for this to work, Yaysay will need to know their consumers fairly well in order to appeal to the sense of urgency to buy. Beyond that, it certainly is an entertaining proposition that has potential for a niche audience of fashionistas.
In store, off-price selling took over the world. Why not online? TJX, Burlington and Ross told us off-price would never work online. I remember when we used to hear “fashion apparel will never work online. The customer needs to feel, see, and try on the garment.” It turns out all the customer wants is a great product at a good price accompanied by good customer service. If Yaysay can deliver all of that AND make it a fun game there is certainly a place for them. The real question is “can they execute.” I don’t know the answer to that question yet.
This is a great example of how AI-first product discovery can create a hyper-personalized shopping experience for consumers, highlighting only those products it believes will catch their eye. With consumers more price-conscious than ever, this is especially beneficial, showing them deals on products that fit their shopping habits.
It will be an interesting experience to watch how customers like engaging with a hyper-personalized “digital shelf” but on a very limited basis compared to traditional eCommerce formats. Despite the hyper-personalization of it all, some customers could get frustrated with the pressure to buy now or lose out on the opportunity altogether. However, if this model is successful, it would be a great case study for brands looking to get creative with their campaigns to move inventory more quickly.