Shopist connects shoppers with the items they want by pinging small merchants all across the country who carry the brand, inviting them to submit an offer.  The shopper compares the prices, shipping and return policies received from the merchants, and clicks to purchase the item from a chosen merchant.

Once a shopper knows what she wants, she often can't find it available online in her size.  She's ready to buy, but nobody has it.  What she doesn't know is that over 80% of inventory sits in brick & mortar stores that don't place their inventory online, and it's entirely possible the item is available in a store somewhere.  Without our app, the shopper doesn't buy, and some merchant out there loses a sale.  Shopist finds her the product, while bringing much-needed business to the merchant.  Everybody wins.

             ---shopper---                                                    ---merchant---

The platform is built and launching in February.  We have signed a partnership agreement with the Council for Fashion Designers of America.  CFDA is promoting our app to consumers and their member base of 400 top designers and their brands.  Brands will promote Shopist to their stores to help drive sell-through, which leads to re-orders.  A single brand can influence hundreds of merchants using the app.

Our method allows the busy merchant to respond to requests reactively as opposed to arduous management of inventory online and the expense of driving online traffic.  Responding to specific transaction requests allows them to compete in the world of ecommerce efficiently and with precision, as only a small merchant has the power to offer markdowns at the transaction level.  Our team knows the challenges and opportunities in working with small merchants, and we identified where to focus to drive success.  We have collectively spent decades in the retail industry, including owning and running stores.  Our model could revolutionize retail, and truly help brick & mortar thrive.