News

Website rewarding consumers for old purchases

November 16, 2011

Rewarding customers for what they already own is the goal of RNKD, a new website created by Nick Swinnurn, founder of Zappos.com

The entrepreneur who created the online shoe-seller told the Wall Street Journal that the site prompts users to upload pictures of clothing and accessories they already own and tag the brands associated with the items.

A beta version of the site launches today. An iPhone app is available for uploading photos directly from smartphones.

How it works

Users register for RNKD via email addresses or by logging in through Facebook. After creating a profile they can then snap photos of items in their closet and upload them in order to establish their ranking. Users may invite friends to help boost their ranking. They can also share posts through various social media sites.

The higher the RNKD score, the more discounts and loyalty rewards consumers will receive from the brands they've proven they buy.

The catch?

The problem, according to the Wall Street Jorunal, is that that not many brands are participating and it could be awhile before the site reaches scale and brands begin to offer discounts.

Currently the site is rearding users weekly with gift certificates from Zappos and Dethrone Royalty – two of Swinmurn's creations. Also, brands looking to offer rewards on RNKD currently have no control over how their clothing items, shoes and accessories are portrayed, since the content is user-generated.

"We're telling brands, that's just real life," Swinburn said in the story. "Here are the $100 shoes in people's closets, next to the $20 pair, because that's what people really own."

Although RNKD has only a few of users, Swinmurn said it has the potential to change online retail.

"Zappos wasn't changing retail when we started it. It wasn't the biggest shoe store, it was a new way to do the shoe store," Swinmurn said. "By focusing on the direct relationship between the brand and the loyal customer, we can now take away that brick wall retailers sometimes create."

Swinmurn founded Zappos in 1999, but left the company in 2006, before Amazon Inc.'s acquired it for $847 million.

Read more about online retailing.