The idea behind gift recommendation websites is simple enough. Buying a gift (or anything else for that matter) can be confusing and time consuming – there’s simply too much choice. Having someone to recommend products to you is therefore a good thing.
Hence, TrendFriend.
For CN$1.99 a year, you can ask TrendFriend to suggest suitable gifts for your nearest and dearest based on the occasion, your budget and simple details like their age, sex and relationship to you. You can click through from the resulting list of recommendations, directly to major retailers who stock the product.
As Quentin Evans, co-founder of TrendFriend explained:
“We were tired of always buying gift cards for people because we were too worried that they would not like the gift we chose. … at the same time, we simply did not have the time to go searching through malls and stores to find a specific gift they might like.”
The site sets itself apart from other gift guide sites through its mobile offering (for gift givers in need of inspiration on the go), the fact that it takes no affiliate commissions (and should therefore be unbiased) and the inclusion of offline retail options too. Users can also create personalized ‘gift calendars’, and flag gifts ideas they would like to remember for future occasions.
TrendFriend has just been released so there’s still some tinkering and visual styling to do. I’d also like to see the recommendations take account of personality traits or the recipients interests. Likewise, the smartphone version has arguably even greater potential, but it’s a little unclear at the moment.
However, the business model itself makes a lot of sense and comes with a choice of ready-made revenue streams – including subscriptions and/or affiliate commissions from the products sold.
It’s also an ideal business model to tack onto a content-based offering like a blog or online magazine (like the Open Sky Project does with its expert bloggers).
The two keys to success will be trust (as in the products turn out to be good recommendations) and simplicity (i.e. saving the shopper time compared to hunting around for ideas themselves).
Site: TrendFriend.ca
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