Businesses love ‘social shopping’ app, says CEO

A new mobile app, GotIT, hopes to be a one-stop social networking app for shopping in Israel and across the world.

Social media is a boon for businesses, providing a cheap way to get the word out on products and services, aimed at the specific demographics most likely to use them.

For many, it hasn’t worked out that way, said Tal Agassi, head of the new social shopping network GotIT. “There’s a lot of distraction on social networks,” he said. “Businesses using Facebook and Twitter to send out their messages have to compete with a lot of other messages sent out by other businesses, in addition to personal messages, etc. Information tends to get lost in the clutter.”

Agassi designed GotIT from the ground up as a social network for shoppers. Users can tell their friends about products they’ve seen in stores, services they have used or meals they liked in restaurants. Businesses can use the app to send out offers to groups of customers, respond to reviews or criticisms and organize customer clubs.

It sounds like a dozen other consumer apps, not to mention a duplication of the services Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Yelp and other social networks already provide. Agassi will be the first to agree. “I know of at least eight other apps that are designed specifically for shopping, like Fancy, which uses picture feeds and sharing to enhance the shopping experience,” he said.

GotIT is different, said Agassi. “You can use Facebook to tell your friends about a product, Instagram to send out a photo to the Internet, Twitter to announce what you’ve bought, or Fancy to get a coupon from a store — but there is no app that includes all these functions, except for GotIT.”

GotIT gives users a full social sharing experience, similar to other apps, but specifically for shopping, Agassi said. Users know that getting and spending is the app’s raison d’etre, so there are no distractions. Posts or data in GotIT can be exported to other social networks, so users don’t have to give up their participation in those platforms. In addition, GotIT has many social features, such as forums, a gift organization function and group buying to get better prices.

Retailers, as one would expect, love the app, said Agassi. “We have been on the App Store for about three weeks, and in that time we have signed up 100 stores in Israel with a customer base of about 500,000.” GotIT has far fewer users, but Agassi expects many more downloads in the weeks ahead, as stores, restaurants and service providers encourage customers to download the app to access coupons and special offers. GotIT plans to expand in Israel, its “beta site,” before moving on to retail centers such as London, New York and other big cities in the US and Europe, said Agassi.

Businesses gave a push that will also help GotIT thrive in the competitive social media advertising scene, Agassi added. After all, Google, Facebook and others are fiercely trying to get the affiliates and fees GotIT seeks for itself.

The name “Agassi” may sound familiar, as Tal’s brother is none other than Shai Agassi, whose Better Place electric car company went bust last year. Tal doesn’t expect that to happen to his business. “We are self-funded, with most of the start-up costs invested by me, with help from a group of investors — including my brother and father.” Reuven Agassi, the father, is chairman of Quicksoft, which represents Adobe in Israel and which he co-founded with Shai. “We have a lot of well-known people in the business advising us, and the reception among users and businesses has been great. I’m very optimistic.”