A new early-stage startup in Chicago wants to help you get the best bargain when shopping online.
WishYourPrice, founded by Geetha Natarajan, makes a patent-pending technology that lets consumers "wish their price" on specific items when deliberating a purchase.
Here’s how it works: Retailers pay for WishYourPrice’s software on a monthly subscription basis and integrate it onto their own e-commerce platform. When a customer visits their site and wants to buy an item, there is a space on the web page where they can enter the price they'd instead be willing to pay. The software then gives an immediate decision, either accepting or denying the shopper's desired price based on discount agreements the startup has established with each individual retailer.
The software also tracks shoppers’ willingness to buy items at certain prices, which is passed along to retailers for personalized marketing.
“It helps retailers offer personalized prices to each of their shoppers,” Natarajan said. “We bridge the gap between what shoppers are willing to pay and what retailers are pricing [items at] so that retailers can better understand what to offer each shopper, instead of just doing flat discounts."
WishYourPrice offers three plans to its clients: A basic plan for $50, a premium plan for $100 and "Pro" plan for an undisclosed amount. Natarajan said that by using WishYourPrice's software, companies can increase profit by 12 to 18 percent.
WishYourPrice also offers "smart trigger emails," which sends personalized emails, based on machine-learning technology, to consumers that aim to influence them to make a purchase. Additionally, the startup has an exit detection function, which nudges shoppers to wish their price on an item before leaving the web page.
The startup is gearing up for its official launch in July, but is currently finalizing its business plan in the WiSTEM cohort, 1871’s 12-week program that provides resources and coaching to female tech founders. Twelve startups are in this year’s program, including Cora, Atkco and Five to Nine.
To prepare for the launch later this summer, Natarajan said WishYourPrice is in discussions with several potential retail clients right now, but wouldn’t disclose which exact ones.
The startup, which has a team of five, isn’t the first tech company to help consumers get better deals when online shopping. Los Angeles-based tech company Honey makes a browser extension that automatically finds and applies coupon codes when consumers are shopping on particular retail sites.
And closer to home in Chicago, Treatail is doing something similar to WishYourPrice as well. They make a web browser extension that allows consumers to request discounts from retailers for desired goods when they’re shopping online.
