Thoughtful.co Launches Beta App to Help Men Be Heroes This Valentine's Day

SEATTLE, Feb. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Seattle-based social commerce startup, Thoughtful.co, today announced the beta launch of its social gifting service in time for Valentine's Day shopping. Thoughtful, available as a web service and iPhone application, provides consumers with unique gifts and experiences from local merchants, enabling them to give the right gift to the right person every time. Beta invitations can be requested at http://www.thoughtful.co.

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Thoughtful fulfills a previously untapped opportunity in the social commerce market: Offering high-quality, unique gifts to consumers and risk-free opportunities to merchants. A study conducted by analyst firm the Altimeter Group showed that the social commerce market is set to grow exponentially in 2011. While only 20 percent of businesses had a social commerce strategy as of late 2010, 86 percent plan to implement a strategy this year. Additionally, by offering its service as an iPhone application as well as a web, the company is taking advantage of the current consumer trend of shopping via mobile phones – according to a survey by Oracle ATG, 41 percent of consumers aged 18-34 say they use their mobile device to complete purchases of products and services.  

"Guys don't shop – they buy," said Chris Lynch, CEO of Thoughtful. "There are a million places to shop online, but what most of us guys struggle with is having a good idea and then easily making it happen. Our app is built to recommend the perfect gift this year so that you can be her hero."

Thoughtful – co-founded by Lynch and tech industry veterans Jamey Baumgardt and Tim Low – combines unique gift recommendations from local merchants with the ability to create profiles of the important people in your life and keep track of significant events for each, such as birthdays, anniversaries and more. The service offers a carefully curated set of gifts from local merchants and includes everything from a season of manicures and pedicures to romantic weekend getaways. Gifts range in price from $25 and up.

"Like most guys, I've had to deal with the consequences of giving a bad gift or forgetting an important date," said Tyler Davidson, a Seattle-based technology executive and Thoughtful alpha user. "Now I use Thoughtful as my own personal assistant. It reminds me when significant dates are coming up and even makes recommendations for cool gifts for my wife. The service takes the stress out of finding that perfect gift, and the best part is that I can find it on my phone without having to battle the department store crowds."

To see how Thoughtful works, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=117l9Ch4-Zc.

While "daily deal"-type sites continue to gain momentum, Thoughtful enables businesses to maintain their brand integrity and avoid over-extending themselves by focusing on quality gifts over discounted pricing. Thoughtful works one-on-one with merchants to set parameters and guidelines around their offerings (quantity available, price, etc.), enabling them to reach a geographically and demographically targeted consumer base. Thoughtful also provides analytical capabilities to merchants, allowing them to actively track the number of gifts sold, progress against goals, etc. Analytical capabilities will continue to expand as the service moves out of beta.

"In the past, I've struggled with how to best engage with the social commerce trend – the daily deal sites seemed too open-ended without any promise of real ROI," said Mayna Sgaramella, owner of Closet Fly, who partnered with Thoughtful to offer wardrobe makeovers and other personal styling services. "I wanted to make sure my services weren't undervalued and would reach my target market. With Thoughtful, I never run the risk of over-extending myself by offering discounted services in high volumes, and I'm guaranteed to reach a targeted set of consumers every time. Finally, a risk-free option for a small business looking to grow."

The initial beta service, available in Seattle, aims to help men easily find great gift ideas to make Valentine's Day shopping fun and painless. Thoughtful plans to add support for additional life events and geographic markets, as well as adding experiences for women to buy for the men in their lives, later this year.

Merchants interested in partnering with Thoughtful.co should visit http://www.thoughtful.co/merchants for more information.

About Thoughtful.co

Thoughtful.co helps consumers quickly and easily give the right gift, at the right time. Available as a web and mobile application, the service recommends unique and thoughtful gifts and helps users manage important dates for the most important people in their lives. Thoughtful provides a risk-free social commerce opportunity for merchants through targeted opportunities and analytical capabilities. Connect with Thoughtful.co online via its website (http://www.thoughtful.co) Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Thoughtfulco/170640909630540) or Twitter (@thoughtfulco).

Media Contact: Michelle Craig or Katie James, Nyhus Communications for Thoughtful.co; 206.323.3733; [email protected], [email protected]

SOURCE Thoughtful.co