Is Shopycat a GiveEmThis.com Copycat?

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How do the gift engines stack up? A comparison between Shopycat by @WalmartLabs and GiveEmThis.com by Imply Labs

PROVO, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- @WalmartLabs announced yesterday the launch of their new social media gifting technology Shopycat, providing consumers with an alternative to GiveEmThis.com, the Imply Labs personalized gift engine, which launched in September.

When asked about the launch of Shopycat, Zack Oates, president and founder of Imply Labs, said, “I’m excited to be in the same place as @WalmartLabs. They have created substantial exposure for technology similar to what we have been developing for the last two years. Now, more companies will see the value in connecting social media with commerce.”

Oates continued by saying, “This changes nothing about our business plans. We will still provide consumers with a platform to find great gifts through GiveEmThis.com, while continuing to license our technology to other ecommerce sites, but without the need for a $300 million dollar acquisition,” referencing Walmart’s purchase of Kosmix earlier this year.

GiveEmThis.com and Shopycat provide essentially the same service but through a through a different user experience. GiveEmThis.com is a web app, while Shopycat is a Facebook app; Walmart has over 10 million fans on their Facebook page, but GiveEmThis.com integrates a variety of social media platforms. The key difference between Shopycat and GiveEmThis.com lies not in the features, but in their business-to-business models. @WalmartLabs is meant to serve the technology needs of Walmart, while Imply Labs was created to serve the vast majority of online retailers.

“We’re excited to see that we share a similar vision with @WalmartLabs, which is to translate the social graph into more relevant data and organize it for individuals in a way that can be easily understood and utilized in relevant ways,” said Oates. “GiveEmThis.com and Shopycat are at the beginning of a new wave of predictive buying, a wave that will dictate the direction of social commerce. I feel privileged that Imply Labs is at the forefront with @WalmartLabs.”

About Imply Labs

Started in 2009, Imply Labs develops social media predictive buying technologies to help people connect to more relevant products, services and information. The technologies find personalized gifts, create insightful reports and improve website experiences. Imply Labs is a privately held company, backed by angel investors, headquartered in Utah.

Imply LabsJonathan Walgamott, 208-921-6535[email protected]

Source: Imply Labs

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