| Founder(s) | Kathy Savitt |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | United States |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Website | http://lockerz.com |
| Type of site | Social Commerce [1] |
| Advertising | Viral Media |
| Registration | Required |
| Users | 19 million[2] |
| Available in | English |
| Launched | 2009 |
| Current status | Active |
Lockerz.com is an international social commerce website based out of Seattle, WA[3]. The site claimed 19 million members[2] as of July 2011 in 195 different countries.[4][5]
Lockerz operates primarily on the basis of accumulating and spending Lockerz points, also called PTZ. Members acquire PTZ for logging in to the site, watching short videos, referring friends, answering daily questions and polls, or purchasing items from Lockerz, among other activities. PTZ can be used for discounts on clothing, electronics, fashion accessories and other products in the Lockerz SHOP.[6][7][8][9]
The website also features an original Web series called The Homes, starring Chelsea Kane.
Lockerz is targeted at men and women ages 13-30, sometimes called Generation Z.[9] About 20[10] members serve on the Lockerz advisory board, or "LAB," which tests features before they are released to the general public.[8][4]
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The company was founded in 2009 by now-CEO Kathy Savitt. Savitt is the former Executive Vice President, CMO of American Eagle Outfitters and was previously a senior executive at Amazon. Focusing on content geared for Generation Z, Lockerz grew from 50 college and high school students to 16 million in less than twelve months through word-of-mouth and social media.[11]
In March 2010, Lockerz launched the beta version of Lockerz Play, the site’s entertainment channel, where users are able to watch videos and collect PTZ for watching them all the way through.
In July 2010, Lockerz announced the launch of Lockerz SHOP, the site’s shopping platform, where members can redeem PTZ for discounts off products from the site’s evergreen assortment of products.[12] There are typically about 200 brands available in the shop at any given time, and they change every week, as quantities are limited. Brands include Nintendo, Razor, and Sony, as well as Splendid, Rock & Republic, 7 for all Mankind, Ella Moss and Dakine.
In late October 2010, Lockerz launched CONNECT, or fwb;) (Friends With Benefits) the company’s social networking platform.[11] As part of this, Lockerz will introduce new ways of giving its members control over their privacy and information.[9] In November 2010, Lockerz launched 24/7, where users bid on a item and the highest bidder gets the prize. In January 2011, Lockerz announced they acquired Twitter photo sharing application, Plixi [13] In July 2011, Lockerz announced they acquired social sharing platform AddToAny.[14]
On August 1, 2011: Lockerz announced that the "Redemption" system would be discontinued. A new pilot coupons program was launched at the same time which enabled members to use their points (PTZ) for discounts in restaurants, stores, and entertainment.[15] Complaints had been made regarding Lockerz' use of "waves" in redemptions, the way it decides who can claim the rewards for which they redeem their points. Many users had alleged that items available for redemptions were gone or “fresh out” within a matter of minutes, which implied that Lockerz had only a very limited supply of any redeemable items in redemptions at the best of times, despite having "over 18+ million users in 195 different countries."[16]
On August 4th, 2011, Lockerz opened its site exploration to non-members. As part of this effort, the company re-designed their homepage and launched a new "Dealz" section which allows members to purchase special offers on restaurants, sporting events and fashion brands, among others.[17][18] Redemptions will not take place anymore and Lockerz temporarily removed 24/7 auctions for upgrades and will re-launch them at a later date.[19]
The Lockerz Advisory Board, LAB for short, was created by Lockerz a few months after the launch of the test splash site. The LAB's first term consisted of an exclusive group of less than 300 members from all around the world. They are, "a select group of Lockerz members from around the world chosen for their creativity, smarts, and dedication to the Lockerz community. This in–the–know team provides support to our membership and tests new site features before they are officially released."[20] On December 4, 2010; the second term of LAB began. LAB 2.0 consisted of approximately 50 members which were broken up into 4 teams: Builders, Connectors, Influencers, and Curators. [21] The third term of LAB began on July 3, 2011 with a group of 20 members.[22]
Lockerz is funded by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), the Silicon Valley venture capital firm, and online media conglomerate Liberty Media.[23][5]. In August 2011, Lockerz also received funding from Live Nation[24]
Lockerz makes money two ways:
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