Let's say you've been looking for the perfect pair of boots for the last few months — classic but fashion-forward, dressy but office-appropriate — and finally, you find them and put a photo up on social media to show off your prize. How would it feel if a group of your friends then dashed out to buy the exact same boots?
More interestingly, would that feeling change if you got a "reward" every time a pair got purchased based on your recommendation?
It's the answer to the second question that drove the creation of
StuffDOT, an online platform that allows users to post items like books, movies, clothes, and housewares, and then earn rewards if those postings lead to purchases by others.
Created by
AOI Marketing, a Minneapolis-based loyalty marketing firm, StuffDOT is still in beta testing, but is likely to be widely released soon, according to Amanda Axvig, the company's vice president of marketing.
"Basically, it's just a smarter way to share," she says. "It rewards users for sharing what they like."
Like other referral programs, StuffDOT compensates users through a point system than can be redeemed for cash or gift cards from retailers like Target and Amazon.com, or even Punch Pizza. In look, the site is similar to Pinterest, but tying posts to rewards makes it even more compelling than those types of "inspiration sites," Axvig says.
Currently, StuffDOT is working with over 18,000 retailers, and Axvig notes that nearly every prominent online retailer has signed on as a partner. With that kind of beta, it's likely that the site's popularity (and AOI Marketing's staff numbers) will continue to grow.
Source: Amanda Axvig, AOI Marketing
Writer: Elizabeth Millard