Online Shoppers Help Each Other Find Items On 'The Hunt' App

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Plenty of people on social media today refer to heavily-used sites, such as Instagram or Facebook, and spot someone wearing an outfit they have interest in, but have no way to go about locating where they can get their own.

A website and mobile application called The Hunt is helping these fashionistas by changing the way the online community shops.

At two years old, The Hunt continues to gain praise and popularity, by allowing the online community to assist each other in the search for their desired items.

"The basic concept is that, when you are browsing Instagram, or Tumblr, orpinterest, or Facebook, and all the time, we see photos of other people whose outfits you might want to wear," CEO Tim Weingarten said.

The way it works is fairly simple. If you have a picture of a particular item, with no clue where to shop for it, you can upload the picture to The Hunt. The next step involves fellow online shoppers and enthusiasts with similar interests — some of whom may have more knowledge of the item —who help you solve your search, or your "hunt", by posting links to places where your item can be found.

The folks who take part in assisting in your search may have knowledge of the item, and wish to help out a fellow shopper, or they may just simply enjoy the challenge.

"The most exciting thing for me is the overall challenge," user Allie Tuazon said. "It's pretty much like a game."

With so many people "hunting" at any given moment, it is also an effective way of meeting and cooperating with people who have similar interests.

"People are very geographically dispersed, and they are able to make these connections with someone that they might not have otherwise known," Sara Brooks said. "We see that people aren't necessarily shopping with their friends; they are shopping with their best friends, and keeping this as a secret."

Additionally, The Hunt allows the user to control how much he or she wishes to spend. Parents are using the app as a tool to save time while going about their shopping.

"I told them that my budget was under a hundred dollars," mother Rachel Talbott said. "So the community went to work, and found them for me for all different prices. You see things all the time on social platforms, where you're like 'where are these shoes from', and you can put it on (The Hunt), and the community helps find it for you."

For more information about how you can start using The Hunt, visit their website.