To help it launch a broader home decor business, private sale ecommerce merchant Gilt Groupe has acquired social shopping site Decorati. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Decorati is a resource site and community for upscale interior design products and services. Through Decorati, which launched in 2007, designers submit inquiries to trade showrooms, and consumers select a designer who will assist them as a buying service.
Gilt Groupe chairman Susan Lyne said in a company-written interview about the acquisition posted to Gilt.com that the home category is very fractured, with content sites from which you can’t purchase and single-brand e-commerce sites. It also boasts a large trade-only business.
“To us, that suggests unfulfilled consumer needs and a big opportunity,” Lyne said. “We know if we can create a site that inspires, with a range of excellent product at a variety of price points, we’ll geometrically improve the home shopping experience.”
Decorati founder/CEO Shane Reilly said in the interview that Gilt’s shopping platform and plans for an expanded home business with full-priced products will enable it to grow on a much broader scale.