Q & A with Associate Director of Verishop, Lindsey Peterson 

How did you get your start in the beauty industry and what is your vision for Verishop’s beauty department?

I have been dabbling in the beauty industry for about 15 years now, from modeling to being a photography assistant and then starting my career as a Merchant at Saks Fifth Avenue in their corporate office. From there, I spent 2 years at the bespoke LA-based boutique, Violet Grey, where my passion for independent beauty really took off. In Spring 2019, I joined Verishop as a founding team member to head up their Beauty & Wellness divisions. From the beginning, our focus was centered on creating a specific POV which, for us, started as Clean Beauty. As we expand over the years, we continue to add in new focuses like Sustainable Beauty, Black Owned Brands, Vegan Beauty, and more, doing our best to meet every customer with a selection that fits their specific needs. My hope is one day, anyone could come to Verishop and be able to not only find what they are looking for, but be inspired and learn from the vast amount of discovery brands we have on the site.

Tell us a little bit about Verishop and why customers should choose to shop with you.

Verishop is a social shopping destination where you can shop the latest trends and discover new brands. We carry more than 1,000 vetted brands across all lifestyle categories — including fashion, home, beauty, skincare, wellness and more — and offer fast, free shipping on orders over $35, free returns and 24/7 customer care. In our iOS app, you’ll find a new way of shopping where you can get inspired and purchase directly from social content, or go group video shopping with friends and family.

Describe Verishop in 3 words.

Social meets commerce.

How did Verishop maintain consumer loyalty as more retailers fought for online attention/sales at the beginning of the pandemic? What product categories surprised you the most in terms of demand?

We’re a customer-centric company that’s focused on marrying a best-in-class commerce experience with new social media-like tools to help you discover new products. We kept our focus on delivering value to our customers and made sure we were there for them across their lifestyle needs. At the time, that meant home goods, comfy clothes and skincare, and now we are seeing a shift back to pre-pandemic tastes.

What is your brand selection process at Verishop? Any tips for brands looking for distribution in your company.

We are constantly looking for new brands as we pride ourselves on staying ahead of the curve and having a wide selection. My advice for any brands looking to join Verishop would be to have a concrete brand story that will help your brand stand out whether that be unique/unusual ingredients, a fun & interesting way of educating consumers, distinctive packaging, or efficacy studies.

In December 2020, you launched “Shop Party”. Can you share with our readers the “Shop Party” experience? Can you share some results?

We launched Shop Party, our group video shopping experience, out of our core belief that shopping should be fun. You can meet up with your friends in a private experience, hang out online over video chat and shop together through our iOS app. Online shopping is lonely, but now you can jump on a Shop Party, share your screen to show what products you’re looking at, peek at what your friends have added to their cart, and talk to them at the same time. Plus, you still get our seamless commerce experience with free shipping, free returns and 24/7 customer care.

We’ve loved how our community has used Shop Party. There have been moms and daughters shopping from different houses, and friends joining at all hours from different coasts. It’s only been a few months since launch, and we’re thrilled to hear our users are loving a new way of shopping online.

What is the Verishop Clean Beauty Standard? Will you continue to expand the requirements and how should brands prepare for the future?

Our Clean Beauty standard was developed with the utmost integrity in mind, which is why we go beyond not allowing parabens, phthalates, and sulfates, but also prohibit the use of polysorbates, PEG compounds, and more to be considered Clean at Verishop. At Verishop, we celebrate brands that are both clean and effective. The definition of “clean” is constantly evolving, and something of a sliding scale, but by offering full transparency in our products’ ingredients we empower our customers to make informed choices.

Who is your top beauty inspiration?

The beauty industry is a funny place because it’s hard to think of people whose paths I’ve crossed with that didn’t inspire me! I would say consistently I have found inspiration from celebrity esthetician and skin care founder Joanna Vargas and the absolutely divine artist and icon Pat McGrath.

ABOUT LINDSEY PETERSON

Peterson’s retail career started at luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue, where she was introduced to Indie Beauty, and then Violet Grey, where she developed a passion for brand education and incubation. She is now a founding team member and the Head of Beauty & Wellness at Verishop, a social-commerce platform based in Los Angeles, CA.

ABOUT VERISHOP

Like all good ideas, we started Verishop out of a need. And what we needed was a more inspiring place to shop online, free shipping over $35 and an exciting way to discover new brands. We basically took everything we loved, and improved everything we didn’t, to create a platform you’d actually want to shop on. Plus, we specialize in partnering with global and digitally native brands to really bring you the best of fashion, beauty and home.

To learn more about Verishop, Click here.