ShopAdvisor Breaks 3 Million Active User Mark With Expanded Reach To On-Line Bloggers and Websites, Enhances Watch Button Functionality

BOSTON, July 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ShopAdvisor, the deferred purchasing platform company whose products connect consumers' initial interest in a product with their eventual purchase, has crossed over the 3 million active user mark accelerated by the recent addition of the Watch Button feature for the ShopAdvisor Platform.  ShopAdvisor delivers a disruptive innovation over traditional online commerce platforms by letting the user decide when they want to buy a product instead of requiring them to buy it as soon as they see it.  With multiple ways to capture interest, from award winning iPhone, iPad and Android mobile clients to "Watch Buttons" on product blogs and on-line media, users can capture a product wherever they see it (on a website, in a product blog, in a store, at a bar, etc.), keep track of that product over time (pricing changes, availability, expert and customer reviews, etc.), and be notified when any of these factors change with an opportunity to purchase at any point.  

Since the initial launch of the iPhone app last fall, ShopAdvisor has experienced rapid user adoption with a jump in new users every time a new input channel is added to the platform.  With the recent release of the Watch Button tool for bloggers and digital content providers last month, the active user base for ShopAdvisor has grown by 500,000 new users, now able to add products of interest that they find on dramatically diverse websites such as Laptop Magazine, Cheapism.com, Tool-rank.com and Photo.net.  By adding the Watch Button next to various reviews of products, from laptop and tablet computers to mini-refrigerators and lawnmowers, consumers are able to quickly identify a product they may fall in love with at first sight, and then have a single, unified place to keep track of its price history, see where it is available either on-line or at a local store, read product reviews and buying guides and tell ShopAdvisor to notify them when the product hits a certain price point or at some specific date in the future.  The ability to have ShopAdvisor keep track and remind them of the product in the future effectively allows the consumer to "time shift" the purchase to a time that is more convenient for the consumer, as opposed to having to "buy now" as traditional on-line commerce links require. 

The ShopAdvisor deferred purchasing process more closely matches the natural shopping patterns of everyday consumers and analysis of the platform's active user community is exposing powerful user behavior statistics.  Of consumers who look at the product information associated with a Watch Button, 19% add the product to their Watchlist.  This compares to an industry average of less than 1% of users who click on a "buy now" button associated with a product.  When a ShopAdvisor user is alerted on something on their Watchlist, 92% of them open the alert and are re-engaged with the product.  Within the first month of a product being on the Watchlist, there is a 20% chance that the user moves to a clickthru/purchase of the product.  Even more interesting, over a 90-day period, there is a 45% chance that the consumer moves to a clickthru/purchase of the product.

In order to maintain and improve on the platform, ShopAdvisor has added new enhancements to the Watch Button feature including the ability for the user to see all the deals available for the product, a price history and a quick product description simply by hovering over the Watch Button.  ShopAdvisor has also added variations in button style and size along with the ability to place a "generic" Watch Button in a website that will remain invisible until it is later associated with a product, allowing for new products to automatically have Watch Buttons appear when details are available without any changes to the website or blog.  

With the rapid uptake in the installed base and the success of the Watch Button feature with bloggers and on-line media, ShopAdvisor is pursuing expansion of its platform to additional digital and physical channels including on-line and print media. One of the goals for the company is to provide a universal utility that allows consumers to capture products directly at the point of interest, wherever that may be, delivering the ShopAdvisor experience for all of a consumer's product purchasing desires.

About ShopAdvisor – ShopAdvisor is a deferred purchasing platform that connects consumers' initial interest in a product with their eventual purchase. ShopAdvisor's cloud-based services are used by blogs, media sites, and third-party applications to incorporate deferred purchasing into their user experience. ShopAdvisor also offers apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle and the web. Founded in 2011, ShopAdvisor is based in Boston, MA.

ShopAdvisor, evoqu, and Watch Button are Trademarks of evoqu, Inc. © 2012

SOURCE ShopAdvisor