Shopping app Curio launches in LA, offering 2-hour delivery from boutiques

By

Cassidy Mantor

Published
Jul 23, 2018

Curio is a new shopping app that offers two-hour delivery of purchases from boutiques. The app recently launched in LA and currently serves 13 boutiques aiming to compete on a local level with Amazon.

Announcing the premise for the app on Instagram, Curio explains, "Over the past few months, we’ve partnered with some of the best boutiques in LA to make it easy to shop across multiple stores near you and get quality goods today, whether you pick-up in store or get 2 hour on-demand delivery."

Through its existing boutique partnerships in LA, the app is able to two-hour delivery on around 5,000 products. Categories of focus include men's and women's apparel and accessories and gifts priced on average between $70 and $200.

The app is designed to compete with Amazon, Target and Walmart who have stepped up their expedited delivery programs to include same-day services in certain markets. Brands who have joined Curio's partnership program include Culver City-based stores  such as Salt Surf and women's boutique Reservoir, as well as Downtown LA brands including Banks Journal and sustainable shop Galerie.LA.

"We realized there was an opportunity to put local boutiques onto one platform for easy discoverability and to take the hassle out of shopping. She adds, "Convenience shouldn’t just be from Amazon; you should be able to find things and get them conveniently from your local community, too," explained Curio Co-Founder Lena Khouri to the Hollywood Reporter.

Curio is also experimenting with a direct texting gift service which rolled out on an invite-only basis to entertainment industry assistants working at CAA. The service offers the assistants a direct text number to Curio's in-house stylist who suggests unique gifts for their clients. The program is incentivized, encouraging assistants to accrue loyalty dollars in return for gift cards.

“We’re all about surprise and delight,” says Co-Founder Christine Outram, who worked with Khouri at Deutsch where she created apps for Volkswagen, Taco Bell and Target. “Our goal is to be a personal shopper in your pocket.”

In the not too distant future, Khouri and Outram plan to roll out Curio in additional markets in Southern California including Orange County and San Diego. Further down the line, they envision expansion to San Francisco, New York and Austin.

Curio is now available to download.