By Caitlin Petreycik
Shopping on your phone while walking is an acquired skill.
At this point you’ve probably caught a zoo’s worth of Pokémon, downloaded (then deleted, then re-downloaded) three different dating apps, and lured every Neko Atsume cat to your yard—what else is there left to do on your phone but shop? Come, enter the world of purchasing things while waiting for your coffee order with us.
Below, we’ve rounded up everything you need to turn your smartphone into a portable mall, from the retailer apps that simplify the “add to cart” process, to photo-driven startups that employ an “Instagram for Buying Stuff” model, to actual Instagram accounts that are killing it in the world of virtual vintage shopping.
The Retailers
Spring: Perhaps the buzziest shopping app, Spring is a mobile marketplace for men’s, women’s, beauty, and lifestyle brands, where you can “follow” your favorite labels, from heavy hitters like Alexander Wang and Everlane to indie retailers who don’t have their own e-commerce sites yet. Brands post photos of new items available for purchase each day, which appear in your feed, where you can then “heart” them (all hearted pics are saved to your personal shopping list) or buy them. Like Amazon, there’s a universal checkout, so you only input your credit card info once, which makes taking the plunge dangerously easy.
The Net Set: If you spent hours refreshing Net-a-Porter on the launch date of, say, Gucci’s furry loafers, or Miu Miu’s grommet-strap ballet flats, then you are very fancy and you should also download The Net Set, the site’s shopping app. It offers a shoppable live feed of items trending on Net-a-Porter, and members can make purchases within the app, recommend styles to friends, and peek inside the closets of founder Natalie Massenet’s glamorous friends. The most exciting feature is the app’s image recognition tool—upload a photo of the cool leopard booties you saw a stranger on the street wearing and The Net Set will do its best to match them to an item in Net-a-Porter’s inventory.
House Account: A platform to connect shoppers with high-end brick-and-mortar boutiques around the country (think New York City’s Bird, Charlotte, North Carolina’s Capitol, or Austin’s ByGeorge), House Account lets you keep up with (and buy things from) your favorite stores, even when you’re thousands of miles away.
Amazon Prime: If you spring for a Prime membership, the retail giant’s app makes it even easier to impulse-buy sheet masks and socks...and have then show up on your doorstep in 24 hours.
Like Tinder for Shopping
Mallzee: One of many “Tinder for Shopping” launches, Mallzee lets users scroll through items for sale, swiping left or right to heart or dismiss them. And, much like you can screenshot a prospective Tinder match’s profile and text it to your friends with a “y/n,” there’s a social component to Mallzee; shoppers can ask users in their social circle to upvote or downvote purchases they’re considering.
Stylect: Swipe right if you could see yourself and those platform espadrilles being really, really happy together, left if not. Stylect aggregates tens of thousands of shoes from e-commerce sites, and the more you swipe the better the app learns your personal taste. When you make a purchase, Stylect gets a kickback, and you can also save your favorites to a wish list and allow the app to send you a notification when one of the styles you’ve been eyeing goes on sale.
Just Browsing
Posy: If you wouldn’t think of purchasing a dress without gathering at least three outside opinions, Posy makes crowdsourcing your shopping decisions easy. Users can create polls on whether a look is a “yes” or a “no,” tap other Posy pals for style advice, and share their favorite buys.
For Discounts
RetailMeNot: This app aggregates deals from over 50,000 retailers to bring you daily discount codes, sales, and scannable barcodes (which you can present at check-out if you’re shopping IRL).
BuyVia: BuyVia keeps you updated on deals from major retailers (think Best Buy, Nordstrom, and Gap), and also provides a barcode scanner so you can compare in-store prices to what’s online.
To Manage All Those Packages
Slice: Slice scans your email, pulls tracking information for upcoming shipments, and sends you push notifications when your packages are on their way.
Instagram Vintage Sellers
We’re about to break the first rule of Instagram shopping, which is, “Don’t talk about Instagram shopping.” After all, the more shoppers who are bidding on an Instagram seller’s items, the harder it is to score those perfect Levis 501s. Buying things on the photo-sharing app is still a little clunky—in most cases, a seller will post a photo of an item (“mint condition ’70s clogs, $48”), and the first person to comment will get the sale. The seller will then reach out to the commenter for his or her email address and send over a money request through Paypal. Now that you have the rundown, here are a few accounts that are too good to keep to ourselves.
The Store: People of 2Morrow, in Brooklyn
The Account: instagram.com/peopleof2morrow
The Vibe: A mix of global goods and designer finds. Textiles from Afghanistan and Kenyan brass bracelets share virtual shelf space with vintage Oscar de la Renta. Recent sales include rainbow Rachel Comey slides, a sunset-colored silk cami, and a denim Catherine Malandrino dress perfect for backyard hangs.
The Store: Na Nin Vintage, in Richmond, Virginia
The Account: instagram.com/naninvintage
The Vibe: Breezy, minimalist basics in cotton, linen, and silk. The selection is more about timeless pieces than labels, and a recent brose brought up woven leather slides, perfect hot-’90s-babysitter jeans, and crocheted tanks.
The Store: The Corner Store, in Los Angeles (by appointment only)
The Account: instagram.com/the_corner_store
The Vibe: This is the place to find your next look-at-me piece. Owner Stacey Nishimoto stocks her Instagram account with frothy Victorian dresses, mile-wide bell-bottoms, and voluminous lace boleros.
The Store: Fox and Fawn, in Brooklyn
The Account: instagram.com/foxandfawn
The Vibe: A mix of contemporary goods (Alexander Wang dresses, No. 6 clogs) and vintage scores (neon Betsey Johnson dresses, 1998 N’Sync tour tees).
