Kaboose: Get beauty advice before you go shopping

Before you go shopping, chances are you’ve already done some Googling. If you’re shopping for beauty products, apparently it just became a lot more fun thanks to Kaboose, a virtual beauty advisor available to shoppers whenever and wherever they choose.

Kaboose touts itself as an “easy-to-use” platform, that provides users with personal beauty advice, instant access to the best prices and exclusive deals on beauty and personal care products. Users can access the site via desktop, mobile and tablets. Mobile access is a big push for the company as most people search for shopping items on the go.

According to the startup, it provides users with a “number of unique shopping tools” that includes personalised product recommendations based on the beauty profile created by the user on the site. It also alerts users to the location of their favourite products — at the best prices — with exclusive deal rewards that can be shared with other beauty product fans.

The service is free and works like a Yelp that focusses on FMCG products while rewarding shoppers for brand loyalty.

Kaboose is self-funded and is co-founded by Mark Bradshaw and Tina Fisher, who both feel that because they have “extensive experience working with leading pharmaceutical, beauty and personal care brands in overseas markets”. Bradshaw notes how in first world markets like the USA, mobile is increasingly becoming a tool that shoppers use to make a purchase decision.

“Mobile now provides shoppers with the tools to help them make an informed decision in real-time, creating a more personal shopping experience,” adds Fisher.

Kaboose does not only cater for the consumer market. A manger portal has been developed for brands and retailers to self-manage their brand message to engaged shoppers while they shop.

“Kaboose gives every brand the opportunity to have a virtual beauty advisor that shares their unique message to shoppers while they shop. And, all of this without the hassle of training staff in-store,” says Bradshaw.

The company’s revenue stream is centered around three core areas:

1. The company offers additional premium marketing opportunities for brands or retailers to further highlight their products or stores on Kaboose by “standing out” from the crowd through a variety of offerings.
2. It also offer brands the ability to run both promotional campaigns and brand loyalty campaigns at retailers. “We take a transaction fee for clearing this transaction through the POS system in retailers”, says Bradshaw.
3. All rewards earned on Kaboose is credited to a user’s virtual wallet on their phone. Shoppers can chose to redeem this wherever they shop. “We will be offering additional services for shoppers to buy or redeem from their wallet and will take a margin on this,” Bradshaw adds.