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Here's a brief SOTU: It's 2019, sales are flat, marketing costs are high, and vendors are grumbling about a low variance in product SKU's moving off their shelves.
Cute promos and social content about "interesting pairings" meant to be tongue in cheek likely weren't going to cut it.
But that was the ask.
I took a step back to ask some questions of my own, hoping to find out what truly underpinned user shopping behavior in the Saucey platform.
Via surveying and data digging, we debunked some closely held assumptions about how people seek and discover alcohol.
The best insight? Turns out they like their tried-and-true libations tried by friends or other trusted sources.
Recommendation engines were great at showing options that match purchases, but we wanted to replicate the social connective tissue that drives IRL discovery.
We refer friends to our favorite eateries, look to co-workers for new wines to sip, we let bartenders – the ultimate influencers – hold our sippable fates… If the paradigm not only exists in real life, but is the primary means of discovery – isn’t the natural solution obvious?
The concept itself is not new. We see it everywhere “likes”, “claps”, “Friends are listening to”, “ -– Apple Music, Medium, Facebook – they all leverage social proof expand engagement with content.
Why not consume-able products?
Beverage discovery is ripe for this kind of pattern because of its inherently social nature IRL, so I saw an opportunity to explore.
Enter friendorsements…
Here's a brief SOTU: It's 2019, sales are flat, marketing costs are high, and vendors are grumbling about a low variance in product SKU's moving off their shelves.
Cute promos and social content about "interesting pairings" meant to be tongue in cheek likely weren't going to cut it.
But that was the ask.
I took a step back to ask some questions of my own, hoping to find out what truly underpinned user shopping behavior in the Saucey platform.
Via surveying and data digging, we debunked some closely held assumptions about how people seek and discover alcohol.
The best insight? They like their tried-and-true libations tested by friends or other trusted sources.
Recommendation engines were great at showing options that match purchases, but we would have to replicate the social connective tissue that drives IRL discovery.
We refer friends to our favorite eateries, look to co-workers for new wine to sip, we let bartenders – the ultimate influencers – hold our sippable fates… If the paradigm not only exists in real life, but is the primary means of discovery – isn’t the natural solution obvious?
The concept itself is not new. We see it everywhere “likes”, “claps”, “Friends are listening to”, “ -– Apple Music, Medium, Facebook – they all leverage social proof and approval of friends to expand engagement with content.
Why not consume-able products?
In app beverage discovery is ripe for this kind of pattern because of its inherently social nature IRL, so I saw an opportunity to explore.
Enter friendorsements…
Here's a brief SOTU: It's 2019, sales are flat, marketing costs are high, and vendors are grumbling about a low variance in product SKU's moving off their shelves.
Cute promos and social content about "interesting pairings" meant to be tongue in cheek likely weren't going to cut it.
But that was the ask.
I took a step back to ask some questions of my own, hoping to find out what truly underpinned user shopping behavior in the Saucey platform.
Via surveying and data digging, we debunked some closely held assumptions about how people seek and discover alcohol.
The best insight? Turns out they like their tried-and-true libations tried by friends or other trusted sources.
Recommend–ation engines were great at SHOWING options that match purchases, but we wanted to replicate the social connective tissue that drives IRL discovery.
We refer friends to our favorite eateries, look to co-workers for new wine to sip, let bartenders – the ultimate influencers – hold our sippable fates… If the paradigm not only exists in real life, but is the primary means of discovery – isn’t the natural solution obvious?
The concept itself is not new. We see it everywhere “likes”, “claps”, “Friends are listening to”, “ -– Apple Music, Medium, Facebook – they all leverage social proof and approval of friends to expand engagement with content.
Why not consume-able products?
In app beverage discovery is ripe for this kind of pattern because of its inherently social nature IRL, so I saw an opportunity to explore.
Enter friendorsements…
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