Mihaibao transforms shopping into an Instagram-meets-Taobao-meets-Tinder experience, using an algorithm to connect shoppers with one-of-a-kind Western brands.
The website launched via London-based co-founder Jacqueline Lam in 2014, starting out as a one-stop-shop for handbag labels from Europe and the United States. However, since then, Mihaibao has grown to include hundreds of luxury fashion brands both through a Chinese website and a new iPhone app.
It all starts with the app asking how the user feels that day, and the user choosing between a set of five emoticons ranging from angry to ecstatic. From there, it takes them straight into an Instagram-like newsfeed with photos of other users and the items they bought.
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Alternatively, users can choose to shop individual brands using a Tinder-like “swipe right” feature which shows products one at a time. Then, the user can choose to give it an “X” or a heart. Based on this information, the app brings up other products it thinks the user will love.
Mihaibao also features a catalog where users can shop by category or by brand, choosing from a pool of more than 100. Each brand has a short explanation in Chinese.
Brands can sign up to join Mihaibao on its website, which promises to be worth $161 billion in sales by 2018 and has backing by the same investors backing Alibaba and Yoox-Net-a-Porter.
Mihaibao helps brands adapt their products for the Chinese consumer by creating a Chinese sizing chart, translating the brand name and product info into Chinese, and helping to create a brand story that would be appealing to the Chinese consumer.
(Source: Jing Daily)