As we come to the end of a most unusual year I’d like to provide an update on Zavee’s progress, as well as offer some additional thoughts.

Our most important news is that Zavee is almost ready to go live. We are finalizing the launch release of our software and expect to begin processing transactions by mid-January. We began our merchant sales efforts in November and already have signed up scores of local businesses in our South Florida launch market. Our consumer acquisition program will begin in January and ramp up over the next several months.

Shopping, Socially

One of the most gratifying – and, frankly, amazing – things about the process of creating Zavee is the extent to which people who know what they’re talking about are saying the same things we are about Zavee’s core concepts. In short, Zavee is in the right place at the right time.

When we describe Zavee as a “social shopping” platform we recognize that this is a new concept for most consumers and businesses. Social media marketers, however, say that social shopping is poised for growth:

“Social shopping is really still in its infancy,” said Andy Lloyd, CEO at Fluid, an e-commerce technology company. This means retailers and solution providers are still thinking about how people connect with other people around buying decisions in an online environment and how they can facilitate those gatherings. “The challenge is people don’t know what social shopping is or what it does,” Lloyd continued, which is why the adoption rate isn’t very high yet.

Search professionals have been quick to see the advantages of social shopping for merchants, including advantages we discuss with merchants constantly: the ability to connect with customers, enhance credibility and leverage word-of-mouth.

From a consumer perspective, social shopping taps into basic principles of human behavior. Marketers increasingly recognize the potential of social shopping and are aligned with Zavee’s perspective on integrating social networking functionality with search and review capabilities:

In social shopping, you see recommendations and reviews that your friends have shared. You see items that your friends have purchased or brands that your friends have shopped with. This matters a lot when you’re shopping for a digital camera and are stuck deciding between three different models. Of course, the last 10 years’ worth of people’s purchasing histories and written reviews on Amazon may help you narrow your choice – if you can filter out the noise. But those reviewers are entirely anonymous to you, even though they may use a real name and have a rating history with the site.

We believe that 2010 will be the year in which social shopping comes of age. This clearly is good news for Zavee. We believe that our social shopping platform, which also integrates a cash-back rewards program and a mechanism for raising funds for local civic and charitable organizations, offers a compelling value proposition for merchants, consumers and causes. We can’t wait to prove it.

From all of us @Zavee, a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year to all!