While we at The WALK do our best to alert you of upcoming sales and deals, it’s tough to keep track of everything cluttering our email inboxes. From daily Groupon alerts to sale notifications for South Moon Under, it’s easy to drown in the deluge of merchant emails we receive. Thanks to Wharton MBA alumnus Anirban Datta, online and in-store shopping is about to get a new future.
Datta, CEO and Co-Founder of Shopilly, sat down with The WALK to give us a glimpse into the future of shopping. With a background in e-commerce at eBay, Datta knows a thing or two about online shopping. He is well aware that our shopping world is missing a tool to “cut through the clutter.” Shopilly seeks to fill that void, enabling those who sign up for the service to shop happily, socially, frugally, intelligently, simply, and more.
Shopilly offers a new, cleaner way to shop, and it’s incredibly simple. By registering for a Shopilly I.D., you get a new email address @shopilly.com that you can use for all shopping purposes, instead of getting all those daily, pesky emails in your personal email inbox. The site will allow you to scroll through offers from selected stores, stay updated on the latest deals, pull up receipts from recent purchases, and share your stellar finds with friends. We predict Shopilly will completely transform shopping and will surely be as widespread as contemporaries such as Twitter and Pinterest. Although it may seem fashion-focused, Shopilly offers much more. “It is a site that can be altered and personalized for the user,” Datta assures. Datta divulges that he will use the site for deals posted on Living Social and golf sites.
Datta also asked us to relay some advice to Penn students looking to get involved in entrepreneurship. He says that now is the best time to get involved in a venture. He stresses the importance of being extremely passionate about your concepts, since you should be prepared to spend long hours working on your idea. However, according to Datta, it will be time well spent; he encourages students to take a leap of faith and “just go for it.” He certainly lives up to his own words of advice.
Shopilly is a source of inspiration for Penn students seeking to blaze their own paths. Datta attributes much of his success and his knowledge of entrepreneurial marketing to his time at Wharton. The school has helped him “better understand where he fits in the grand scheme of things.” Several Wharton professors serve as advisors on the Shopilly team, which is a direct tribute to the extensive, loyal network Datta formed during his time at Penn.
Datta’s plans for Shopilly are impressive, and his drive shines through. He declares, “Facebook was to Harvard as Shopilly will be to Penn.” We are eager to see Shopilly join the ranks of other successful, innovative Penn alumni businesses including Warby Parker and Quidsi.
Excited to start your new shopping future? We at The WALK certainly are! Reserve your personal Shopilly I.D. here and learn more about everything Shopilly has to offer.
– Whitney Mash