A stroll down Spring Street in Soho, where Prada sits cheek-by-jowl with Apple and a Nespresso store, gave the founders of the new app Spring, out today, the idea for their mobile shopping breakthrough. Founders David and Alan Tisch, Ara Katz, and Octavian Costache — who between them, have experience at Google, BeachMint, and the Department of Defense, of all places — are banking on direct integration with brands to set their product apart. In a demo yesterday, David Tisch told the Cut that designers like Thakoon and Prabal Gurung, who don’t have in-house e-commerce, will be selling via the app. Spring has also managed to bring on brands that have existing e-commerce, like Michael Kors, Everlane, and Warby Parker. The technology is ultrasimple: with a single Tinder-esque swipe, you can buy anything from a handbag to lipstick to a drone (the app sells a variety of tech accessories). With a glut of mobile shopping apps in the marketplace, and so many start-ups trying to simplify shopping (think of Lyst and ShopStyle’s aggregation features, or Keep’s universal shopping cart), it will be interesting to see if Spring goes the distance. Check it out here if you’re so inclined.
