Dive Brief:
- Carving out market share in video commerce, former Vice President of U.S. Prime Video Alex Perez-Tenessa and entrepreneur David Olmos have launched Trendio, a video shopping app that lets users view personalized shoppable content, according to a Thursday press release shared with Retail Dive. The company has also tapped former Amazon Live employee Julie Novak and former Glossier executive Leah Grubb to shape the app.
- The platform lets users interact with creators through their live and pre-recorded videos, pin their favorite products to dashboards and buy items from brands within the app, according to the press release.
- The company received an undisclosed sum in seed funding from venture capital firm Madrona, an early investor in Amazon. Former Zulily CEO Jeff Yurcisin, founder of Amazon Live Munira Rahemtulla and former QVC board member Michael Zeisser all sit on the startup's advisory board.
Dive Insight:
Among the brands available on the platform are Merit, Philosophy, Ursa Major, Nudestix and Avene. Trendio said it has implemented "stringent criteria" for its brand partners and content creators on the platform. It chooses its creators based on their expertise, reliability and relatability so that shoppers can trust the content they share.
Looking ahead to 2023, the company said it is enhancing its artificial intelligence capabilities to auto-edit videos for shoppers' preferences, which it hopes will increase conversion rates. Citing the success of video commerce in China, Trendio aims to capitalize on the U.S. market.
"We're reinventing shopping entertainment for a new generation," Perez-Tenessa said in a statement. "We launched Trendio because traditional e-commerce wasn't working for customers who wanted to discover new beauty brands and products in a way that felt personal and that they could trust. Our technology roadmap not only enhances the shopping journey, it reinvents how people experience video altogether - we are creating the first-ever personalized video experience."
Trendio faces stiff competition for the top video commerce app. In November 2021, Wayfair introduced its video commerce app, Wayfair On Air, on iOS. The app showcases home decor products in a daily segment titled The Wayfair Rundown.
Earlier this year, Wish released Wish Clips, its shoppable video feature that allows shoppers to learn about products in 5-to-30-second videos. Klarna and Amazon later released similar shoppable video components.
