Introducing Consmr

These days, we can always get more than one opinion on something before we try it. If I want to try the new Mexican restaurant on Broadway, a few clicks on Yelp will tell me if I should opt for Chinese instead. Before I take someone to see the newly released comedy flick, Rotten Tomatoes will tell me if a thriller is a better use of my $14 (outrageous NYC movie prices, I know). But what about packaged goods? With household items like Oreo and Nutella, we do feel strongly about the products we use and we never hesitate to share. We often hear things like: “Have you tried ____?” or “You should try _____.” Consmr introduces an interactive, crowd-sourced platform to rate the products we use and see what our friends think as well - all for points!

How it Works

The New York City based startup, which launched in June of this year, allows users to share, discover, and rate these everyday items from 1 star to 5 stars. The site categorizes the products into two categories,“Grocery” and “Drugstore,” with subcategories such as “frozen foods” and “makeup” to further organize the list. Many common items are already available to be searched, but users can add their own items that are not on the list. Consmr also applies the social aspect, awarding Foursquare-esque badges and Level-Ups for reaching certain goals, and allowing users to connect to the site with Facebook and Twitter.

Conclusion

Although it’s unlikely that rating sites like these would ever replace word-of-mouth, third party sources are becoming more and more prevalent in our decision making process. When a customer looks up a product to buy, they usually prefer to go with the advice of a trusted friend over an online critic; however, having that extra confirmation from online sources never hurts. It will be interesting to see how brands and companies respond once sites like these become bigger and more influential.