QVC’s Innovative Qurio Social Shopping App Honored by Fast Company
October 24, 2022: Fast Company, a premier business media company with a focus on innovative technology, leadership and design, has named Qurio, a social shopping app created by QVC® UK, as a finalist in the 2022 Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards.
Qurio is one of only two finalists in the Retail Environments category, placing the app among the top three in the category, which highlights initiatives that bring a company, service or product to life. Finalists and winners for these prestigious awards were selected by a jury of renowned designers, Fast Company writers and editors, and business leaders from some of the world’s most innovative companies. The judges evaluated entries on key ingredients of innovation, including functionality, originality, beauty, sustainability, user insight, cultural impact and business impact.
The Qurio app taps into word-of-mouth marketing by giving the camera to customers and empowering them to create and share video reviews, tips and inspiration with each other in an inclusive online community. Since Qurio launched in May 2021, thousands of customers have joined this user-driven digital discovery experience, with hundreds of customers posting their own content to the app. QVC’s U.K. team worked with global design company IDEO to create Qurio.
“Our team knows that shopping is an inherently social experience,” said Karen Etzkorn, Chief Information Officer, Qurate Retail GroupSM. “Qurio provides a forum for our customers to share their discoveries and exchange stories about products they find exciting, in their own words. We’re proud of the creativity of our U.K. team, and we’re pleased to see it be recognized by Fast Company.”
“Qurio expands on a core strength for QVC: creating video experiences that spark dialog and build human connections and trust”, said Chiara Pariani, VP Brand Marketing & Customer Engagement, QVC International. “Our customers are people-curious and product-curious. They are critical consumers of information they find on social media and seek out sources that they believe are credible. They trust the opinions of relatable women like them, which is exactly what Qurio delivers.”
Qurio reflects QVC’s strategic initiative to expand the reach of its video commerce (“vCommerce”) experiences across new media and digital platforms. In the U.K. and Ireland, QVC reaches 28 million homes via four TV networks (QVC, QVC Beauty, QVC Extra and QVC Style), with approximately 20 hours a day of live programming. QVC also engages millions of British and Irish customers via its website, mobile apps and social pages. Worldwide, QVC reaches more than 200 million homes via 12 linear TV channels, which are widely available on cable/satellite TV, free over-the-air TV, and digital livestreaming TV. QVC and HSN® also reach millions of homes via websites, mobile apps, social pages, and the QVC+ and HSN+ streaming experience in the U.S.
Winners, finalists, and honorable mentions are featured online and in the October issue of Fast Company magazine, which hit newsstands on September 27, 2022.
To see the complete list, go to https://www.fastcompany.com/innovation-by-design/list