How AHALife Sets Itself Apart in the Crowded E-Commerce Field
In the elusive (and never-ending) quest to provide shoppers with exciting new ways to engage while dropping cash, AHALife bursts on the scene to offer relief for the e-commerce doldrums. Launched yesterday, AHALife is a spin on luxury retail that offers a globally curated mix of exclusive products and a guided lifestyle shopping experience for women. It's a mouthful (and a head-full to process) but it just might work.
Here's why:
AHALife's founder Shauna Mei knows a thing or two about computers having studied computer science at MIT. She also has experience in retail and funding. Mei worked on the sale of the Neiman Marcus Group (NMGA) at Goldman Sachs and is co-founder of the Aronsson Group, a luxury investment firm. It's not surprising that AHALife snagged a first round of investment from FirstMark Capital's FirstSteps Seed Program for her start-up.
What Mei doesn't know she outsources. Particularly with product â€"- hence the concept of curating. AHALife will introduce one new product daily. Think artisanal foods, gem encrusted earrings, even chairs, all handpicked by the likes of design diva Diane von Furstenberg, style eccentric Iris Apfel, and Project Runway's Tim Gunn. Mei's also counting on the power of crowdsourcing a la ModCloth's Be the Buyer initiative. Shoppers may play at being merchandisers by suggesting unique items. "I want to create a dialogue between my site, brands and shoppers, but it isn't a democracy," she says. "We need to filter our customers' suggestions."
While other e-commerce sites struggle to perfect editorial alongside a product mix, Mei's relying on experts such as her editorial director, the fashion journalist Lauren David Peden, and Gilles Bensimon (fashion photographer and international creative director of Elle) as creative director. On its first day, the page is elegantly spare, the copy is crisp, and the photography's meticulously sharp (so critical for items you can't actually touch before you buy.)
Perhaps AHALife's ace-in-the-hole against its nearest competitors (think Gilt Groupe, Net a Porter, Yoox, etc.) is that each item is not only exclusive to the online shopping world (at least for the first 24 hours), each has the special burnish of originating in far-flung places.
Mei's also baking a bit of feel-good vibe in the shopping experience. Some items such as Lauren Bush's hand-dyed scarf crafted by women in the Congo will earn buyers an "aha karma" badge on their profiles.
That aura of exclusivity should not only bring a stampede of aesthetically-minded shoppers. For those who don't manage to catch that coveted product in its limited seven day run of sale, there's always tomorrow. It's practically guaranteed to provide an AHA moment every day.
Image via ahalife.com
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