In the ever-evolving landscape of online shopping, where the thrill of discovery often takes a backseat to convenience, a new player is stepping onto the scene, ready to rekindle the excitement of the hunt. Meet Yaysay, the AI-powered shopping app that’s transforming off-price fashion shopping into an exhilarating mobile experience, while pushing the boundaries of e-commerce.

The Brainchild of a Visionary

Yaysay emerges from the creative mind of Philip Krim, co-founder of the renowned Casper brand. Krim’s latest brainchild fuses elements from various realms, including social media, video games, online ticketing platforms, and dating apps. The result? A groundbreaking shopping app that’s poised to change how we find and secure the fashion treasures we desire.

A Daily Fashion Adventure

Each day, Yaysay crafts a personalized selection of items just for you, perfectly aligned with your preferences and favorite brands. These gems are presented in a swipeable vertical feed, reminiscent of the familiar dating app interface. Brands featured on Yaysay read like a fashion lover’s dream list, including Acne, ALC, Chloe, Ganni, Isabel Marant, Jonathan Simkhai, Loeffler Randall, Loewe, Vince, and many more. To keep things fresh, new inventory is unleashed onto the app daily, ensuring there’s always something new to discover.

The Countdown to Fashion Bliss

Here’s where the game gets exciting. If you come across an item that tickles your fashion senses, you have precisely 30 minutes to make your decision. This thrilling countdown mechanism mirrors the urgency of scoring coveted tickets on platforms like Ticketmaster. The concept of a timer adds a sense of exhilaration and pressure, a tactic widely embraced in e-commerce to stimulate conversions.

Swipe Right or Miss Out

In the world of Yaysay, a swipe is final. There’s no turning back. Once you’ve swiped right, indicating your interest, the item is yours to seize. But, if you miss your chance, it’s gone forever. Fear not, though, Yaysay kindly offers three precious “swipebacks” each day, providing a lifeline for those accidental swipes.

A Window into Trending Fashion

When you’ve browsed your daily selection and made your choices, Yaysay invites you to explore a trending section, unveiling the fashion preferences of shoppers in your area. It’s a window into the fashion pulse of your community, adding an exciting dimension to your shopping experience.

The Art of Discovery-Based Shopping

Lindsay Ferstandig, former Stitch Fix executive and Yaysay’s CEO, explains the app’s philosophy in a recent interview with TechCrunch: “This is not search-based shopping; this is all about stumbling onto a great find that you didn’t even know you needed.” Yaysay is designed to deliver the joy of unexpected discoveries, creating a sense of adventure that’s often missing in the world of online fashion retail.

The Off-Price Revolution

Off-price retail, characterized by offering designer clothing at discounted prices, is a thriving sector, especially in an era where price-conscious consumers reign supreme. TJX, the parent company of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods, reported impressive net sales, indicating the enduring appeal of off-price shopping. Yaysay enters this landscape with the aim of reimagining the treasure hunt experience for the digital age.

The Visionary’s Inspiration

Philip Krim shares his motivation for creating Yaysay: “Using AI and other technologies developed over the last few years, it is now finally possible to recreate that unique treasure hunt experience online for the first time.” Krim drew inspiration from the success of T.J. Maxx, recognizing the potential to infuse online shopping with the same sense of adventure.

An Ongoing Shopping Adventure

Yaysay is currently available exclusively on iOS devices, with plans to expand to Android in the future. The company has garnered a total of $10.3 million in funding across two rounds. The initial pre-seed round, amounting to $2.3 million, saw participation from notable investors, including A* Capital, Afore Capital, Montauk Ventures, Raven One Ventures, Red Antler, and Shrug Capital. Yaysay followed this with an $8 million seed round, led by Lightspeed Ventures, with additional support from most of the pre-seed investors.

As Yaysay strides boldly into the world of fashion and tech, it offers a tantalizing glimpse of a future where shopping is an exhilarating adventure, waiting to be discovered one swipe at a time.