I’ve been working on a project called Svpply led by Ben Pieratt and Eric Jacobsen and we just opened up registration after being invite-only for about a year. We did all of this to answer a question: If you could build a physical store with shelves of goods that change depending on who walked in, then how would its online catalog work?
To simulate a solution, we released a bookmarklet (think ‘Instapaper for products’) so that our friends could keep track of goods they recommend or need. This effectively created a personal store for each person, reflective of their preferences and style.
We iterated by tracing the cowpaths we observed, which led us to create a service that allows you to organize your own “Svpply” (pronounced Supply) as well as follow others with taste you appreciate. As a result, you have a clutter-free shopping experience where only goods bound to be useful or tasteful to you are surfaced.
One behavior I’ve noticed is that I prefer to browse items from a particular store on Svpply rather than the retailer’s own site, if only because the design is consistent and clean. For example, Manufactum.com represented on Svpply.
So, here’s my Svpply. You’re welcome to register for your own. Feedback is encouraged.