Building
off the rocketing popularity of Pinterest, a new online recommendation site
called Wisemarkit allows users to get a cut of the action when someone buys a
product they endorsed. The site’s founders hope to drive sales through
shopper-to-shopper buzz.
Wisemarkit,
which launched July 2, has an interface reminiscent of Pinterest and even
requires new users to request an invitation to set up an account, just as
Pinterest does. Once an account is open, the user can recommend up to 10 items
by pinning pictures and descriptions on a profile page. If somebody clicks
through to purchase one of the items, Wisemarkit not only shares the revenue
with the recommender but also awards points that can be redeemed to upgrade the
profile page with additional features.
At
present, Wisemarkit only sources merchandise through Amazon Affiliates and
Shopsense programs, but intends to start signing up retail establishments soon,
according to a Fast Company report.
Retailers could also create accounts applauding their top sellers or hot, new
arrivals. A ranking function will also show how many recommendations a product
has garnered.
Why
restrict accounts to just 10 recommendations at any given time and not an
unlimited number? Wisemarkit thinks account-holders will only vouch for those
products they really like, which in turn will generate more click-through
sales.
