The recently launched shopping site Yuno pays cold, hard cash for something many people already do for free: recommend products to the friends that populate their social networks. Users that recommend one of the 70 million fashion, lifestyle, technology or sports products featured on the site earn cash rewards when someone in their network buys the item.
The site launched in September with 200 users and has “organically grown through friends and family to 2,000 users,” said Founder André Walters, a sports attorney turned tech entrepreneur. Yuno has partnered with more than 200 national retailers, including Macy’s, Best Buy, Foot Locker and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Yuno users browse the site’s products, click the “recommend” button and tag their friends. If the friend(s) purchase the item, the user gets cash for the recommendation while the friend receives cashback for the purchase. Cashback percentages range from 1% to 3%.
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For retailers, the biggest benefit is that “partnering with Yuno is free currently,” said Walters in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “We get paid when an item sells on our site, so the retailers essentially get to extend their sales force. We also provide a unique platform that allows the best products to be shared naturally and organically by consumers, which obviously has tremendous benefits for retailers.”
Yuno earns commissions on the sales generated via the site, and pays the cashback bonuses (which vary based on factors including product type and retailer) from its own revenues. “Our business model was constructed with a ‘consumer first’ mindset,” said Walters. “We chose to share what we earn with those that buy or recommend items on our site because we just think that makes the most business sense.”
Walters, who was former lead attorney for Michael Jordan’s NBA team the Charlotte Bobcats, noted that he has been pleased with the growth rates so far, adding that the site has “some cool initiatives planned for 2016 that will have some positive effects on our growth,” though he did not provide specifics.
