And while the deal is clearly a positive sign for “social shopping”, it’s still not certain social sites can monetize through ecommerce alone – Yahoo will roll out the Polyvore advertising platform across its entire network by integrating with Yahoo Gemini, Lee told TechCrunch.
Advertisement
Polyvore allows users to shop for accessories and clothing, but it also includes a social networking feature that permits users to post selections of their desired items, just like what they might do in the equally famous app, Pinterest.
In a bid to increase its portfolio of advertising real estate, Yahoo has acquired Polyvore, an e-commerce startup founded by three ex-Yahoo employees in 2007.
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is said to have led the proceedings for the acquisition, asserting the importance of advertising as a large part in the decision to purchase Polyvore. But the Wall Street Journal reported the purchase should help Yahoo’s native-advertising efforts, since Polyvore has relationships with more than 350 retailers. Polyver’s native ad model will also be adapted by the company, as native ads tend to look like the website’s main content and don’t resemble conventional ads.
Yahoo plans to tap into Polyvore’s taste-making skills and loyal consumer following to sell more ads in its digital magazines focusing on style and beauty. Yahoo said the deal will accelerate its digital content growth strategy across the areas of social, mobile and native. She is seeking to give new direction to a company which has lost significant market share to companies like Google and Facebook.
Advertisement
The acquisition, which hasn’t closed yet, will mark a homecoming for three of Polyvore’s co-founders, Jianing Hu, Guangwei Yuan and Pasha Sadri. Lee, who began as a product manager at Google at Mayer’s advice, was an avid Polyvore user who complained to the Polyvore team about the site’s issues. Under Lee’s watch, Polyvore raised a total of $22.1 million in funding from investors including Goldman Sachs, DAG Ventures and Matrix Partners.
