The Yes: App? Department Store? Personal Shopper? Well. Yes. - feat. Julie Bornstein, CEO & Co-Founder at The Yes
Today, Brian sits down with Julie Bornstein, former COO of Stitch Fix, currently launching the personally curated shopping app, The Yes. What is The Yes? How does an AI-integrated shopping app differ from traditional retail or eCommerce experiences?
THE YES AND THE NEED FOR TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION
- Julie has been working in the industry since the beginning of eCommerce and has always seen new ideas and opportunities which are now finally possible through technology.
- The Yes is an AI-shopping app which makes a consumer’s shopping experience more efficient, personal, and relevant.
- The Yes features a conglomerate of products from different brands, asking consumers questions to find and personally curate their own personal style and experience in-app.
- Think of Spotify, but for shopping. There’s not one style that’s preferred or featured more than another - it’s an experience in which anyone can find their own specific niche. The Yes does this by focusing on user experience while supporting brands and their relationships to their consumers.
OFF-BRAND, NAME-BRAND, AND A PERSONALIZED EXPERIENCE
- There is a lack of trust in off-brand clothing because of its variance in size, style, fit, etc.
- The Yes is focusing on name-brand products and helping brands to establish trust and alignment between brands and consumers - an example of this is in The Yes mixing DTC brands and traditional brands all within the app.
- Every product has its own very intricate taxonomy that relates it to other products.
- Launching during COVID-19 helped the Yes to sit with their initial product and spend time adding features that originally were not going to be included in the initial version.
- “Adversity spurs innovation and adoption of that innovation.” During COVID, the physical retail experience has become non-existent so eCommerce has had to shift to becoming a more immersive experience. The Yes fits that needed role as a fashion curation by blending AI and human facilitation.
BRANDS MENTIONED:
Amazon
Spotify
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