Hearst wants Gen Z shoppers to use FirstFinds as their new go-to app for buying products they see on social media. 

Hearst wants Gen Z shoppers to use FirstFinds as their new go-to app for buying products they see on social media. Inspired by Gen Z’s social shopping habits, FirstFinds is set on “shorten[ing] the time between discovering a product, learning more about it and ultimately buying it.” Users can “upvote” or “downvote” products in the app’s marketplace which will contribute to an item’s trend score. The top trending products will be “featured more prominently” and “will [eventually] skew the marketplace to appeal to the people who use FirstFinds the most.” Each product is promoted based on current trends and will fall within five categories: “It’s hot, it’s fresh, it’s wild, it works or it’s green.” The new app launched in beta just last week and is being fully released today. YPulse research shows just how much social shopping has grown among young consumers and 83% agree that if you are posting a social media ad there should be a direct link to purchase. (Digiday)