Development status Active Website www.grabble.com | Operating system | |
Initial release July 1, 2013; 3 years ago (2013-07-01) | ||
Grabble is a fashion and lifestyle mobile commerce platform that currently operates on the iOS platform in the UK, and allows users to read editorial content and shop from thousands of international and homegrown brands and retailers, including Zara, Mr Porter, Harvey Nichols, Topshop, & Other Stories, COS, Whistles and Browns. Their focus covers menswear, womenswear, homeware, beauty, well-being and grooming.
Contents
History
Grabble was originally launched in 2013, by founders Daniel Murray and Joel Freeman, with the idea of curating high street fashion, whereby users could save pieces by “grabbing” them from both the Grabble website and external retail sites using the “Grab” button.
Relaunched in August 2014 as an app for Android and iOS, the app was described as “ASOS meets Pinterest, with sales alerts” and “Tinder for fashion”, due to the swiping system used to like or dislike a product, and a small editorial team was set up to “curate items separately to give the app a more exclusive feel.”
Grabble, currently, operates as a free iOS app, with a native checkout that accepts Apple Pay alongside credit and debit cards. The company stands at over 20 employees with up to 6 in-house stylists who curate products daily.
Features
Everything featured on Grabble can be saved to a wish-list and purchased by the user on the app itself. Products can be found through searching brands or categories, however, Grabble encourages the discovery element through curated editorial content.
Editorial content consists of stories covering upcoming designers; trend spotting across fashion, interiors, home ware, beauty tutorials; and lifestyle, such as fitness, food, and travel.
Grabble offers sale alerts, a daily curated New In section and daily themed collections, where users can swipe left or right on products.
Users are able to track their orders and share products or wishlists via email or social media. In 2016, Grabble introduced a rewards scheme for both new and existing users.
Users
Grabble attracts a Millennial audience. Ages of users span from 21 to 36 years old and, as of the start of 2016, had a user base of over 400,000, with 50,000 using the app daily on their smartphones.
″Millennials are super-smart and super-busy and from a fashion perspective they carry themselves well in a world they have largely created for themselves through hard work and dedication. Our purpose at Grabble is to meet their expectations not just by answering their fashion requirements but by creating a personalised relationship of trust with them. We want them to know we’re part of their world″, says (founder, Daniel) Murray.
Funding
In February 2015, Grabble closed an Angel funding round having raised £1.85 million from nine investors, who included Skimlinks founder Alex Hoye; Guy Hipwell, former Harrods e-commerce director; Alex Tait, former head of e-commerce at Topshop owner Arcadia; and media guru Darren Childs, chief executive of UKTV.
Competitors
Companies who also operate a wishlist and curation process includes Lyst, Mallzee and Shopcade.
Reception
Since launch, Grabble has gained mostly positive reactions and coverage from various British media outlets:
InStyle Future Fifteen 2016: Daniel Murray
“When Grabble first launched on the iTunes store, Apple named it best new app in 34 countries, and it has been in the top 10 most popular downloads in 108 countries since launch.” - Forbes
“A clever little app… there’s endless potential to fall in fashion love” - Daily Mail
TechCity Insider 100 List (2014)
WIRED Europe’s 100 Hottest Start Ups 2016
Awards
Drapers Digital Awards 2015: Best Tech Start Up
Decoded Fashion Awards 2015: Best Use of Mobile
Everline Future 50 2014 Winner
02 Smarta 100 Award 2014: Mobile Business of the Year
Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 (Awarded to Daniel Murray)