New start-up aims to help retailers embrace social shopping

Los Altos, Calif. -- A start-up from the former head of Google Shopping, Nitin Mangtani, aims to make the “buy button” on social media a reality for consumers.



The company, PredictSpring, has created a technology platform designed to drive mobile commerce by improving and simplifying the way consumers shop on mobile phones and to easily enable “buy” experiences on brand and social media apps. Businesses using the platform include Cole Haan, Eddie Bauer, Bluefly and Woodcraft.



While 60% of consumers’ online retail browsing is currently done on mobile devices, only some 15% of retail dollars are spent on these devices, according to PredictSpring. The company aims to help retailers close this gap via its mobile platform which allows brands to build customized native mobile shopping apps — without writing any code.



“Mobile commerce is undeniably the future of retail and shopping, but the technology hadn’t yet existed to make it a seamless buying experience,” said Mangtani, founder and CEO of PredictSpring. “For the past 15 years, brands and retailers have focused on ad formats to promote products, but these strategies were designed for desktop and have largely failed on mobile. We have arrived at a time when every form of mobile content will be ‘shoppable’ – whether via a retailer’s own app, social media platforms, or publisher apps. PredictSpring is in the business of providing that gateway to commerce.”



The new company is also launching Commerce Gateway. It is designed to provide brands with a single API where they can integrate such elements as their e-commerce platform, inventory system, payment provider, product catalog and loyalty program, which should make it easier for companies to add shopping capabilities to their online ads and social media.