Startup takes social shopping to a new level

A new website –- part social network, part online marketplace -- is partnering with dozens of well-known retailers to reward shoppers who promote their products on social media.

Yuno, a new social shopping e-commerce site that allows users to discover and shop for over 70 million products, launched this week. Free to use, Yuno curates fashion, lifestyle, sports and technology products from major retailers, including Macy's, Best Buy, Nieman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Foot Locker, and rewards users with cashback on every purchase made.

Founded by sports lawyer turned tech entrepreneur Andre Walters, the Charlotte-based startup has secured several hundred notable retail partners to date.

Yuno's team of content curators monitors the latest trends and presents the best products from the company's retail partners to Yuno's community of online shoppers. In addition to providing users with cashback on every purchase, Yuno also rewards users with cashback every time someone in their Yuno social network sees what they purchased and decides to buy the same or related product. Yuno's social shopping experience also gives users the opportunity to "like," comment on, and recommend products to friends in their social network.

"At Yuno, our mission is to help everyday people enhance their lives based on who they are and who they know," said Yuno CEO Andre Walters. "With social media, the power to generate attention and to influence others' behavior is no longer limited to famous celebrities. We are all valuable in the world of commerce through word of mouth marketing, and we believe that value should be recognized in our everyday transactions by the companies we support."

Community-powered commerce is a fairly new concept, but one that’s increasingly being taken seriously. Facebook and Twitter are both testing “buy” buttons on their platforms, indicating there’s some interest in using social websites for buying.

There is no limit to how much cashback a Yuno user can earn. Ultimately, the most active Yuno users are positioned to receive up to 100% cashback on their purchases depending on their level of influence or "social capital" among their Yuno followers. As the company's name suggests, "Yuno" helps the consumer benefit not from what they know, but who they know.

Yuno has plans to grow its product offerings in the coming months.