Dive Brief:
- In an effort to improve customer trust and retention, Wish introduced its Wish Standards program, which implements a series of quality assurance standards such as shipping experience, product quality, customer reviews, refund rates and compliance with Wish's rules.
- The company said sellers participating in the Wish Standards program can access commission discounts, faster payment terms and better product exposure in the app.
- Wish also said that it will turn its attention toward product discovery on the platform, starting with redesigning its homepage to highlight banners, deals, brands and trending products. The company also said it will integrate shoppable video "over the coming months."
Dive Insight:
Wish said that its new program is part of a broader plan to improve product quality on the platform. The company is also diversifying its merchant base to add more sellers outside of China.
"Our Wish Standards program measures the performance of merchants in areas that matter to consumers most. It enhances the end-to-end buying experiences on our platform by rewarding high-quality merchants who consistently provide a better user experience," Farhang Kassaei, chief technology officer at Wish, said in a statement. "Our ultimate goal is to align our merchants' success with that of an enhanced user experience."
The rollout of the Wish Standards program comes as other online retailers introduce their verification efforts. Though regulators have weighed whether to address the counterfeit goods problem on Amazon, the e-commerce behemoth has teamed up with brands like Salvatore Ferragamo, Valentino and KF Beauty to sue alleged counterfeiters and introduce various seller authentication programs.
Other e-commerce platforms are also looking to enhance product discovery through visual search and other tools. In early 2021, Google Cloud debuted Recommendations AI, Vision API Product Search and Google Cloud Search for Retail, all designed to give consumers a personalized shopping experience. Last month, tech startup Fast Simon introduced AI visual search tools that sellers could integrate into their online stores.
"We believe the future of e-commerce will be built around the serendipitous discovery of products. By acting as a hub for inspiration, we hope to provoke interest and shape demand and, ultimately, be the pioneers of the next generation of commerce," Tarun Jain, chief product officer at Wish, said in a statement.
Wish also follows other companies adding video commerce to its platform. Starting with its daily show titled The Wayfair Rundown, Wayfair debuted a new video commerce experience earlier this month to highlight products available on its platform and inspire shoppers. Pinterest also introduced livestream shopping and programming on its platform in early November.
