Indigo's newest stand-alone, free iOS app lets
users discover, share, capture, and discuss great
books.
TORONTO, July 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Indigo (TSX:
IDG) is pleased to announce the launch of RECO, the first iOS
mobile application that provides users with access to a
global community of friends and influencers to discover,
share, capture, and discuss books through an easy-to-use and
beautifully designed mobile experience. RECO's book
recommendations are curated and shared by a trusted community of
friends and experts rather than through the impersonal suggestions
of an algorithm, as is widely used by other services.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160720/391440)
"As a lifelong booklover, nothing brings me more joy than
sharing a book I love with my friends," says Heather Reisman, RECO co-founder and Indigo's
Chief Executive Officer. "RECO is a platform for everyone to share
the joy of reading and nothing beats getting a recommendation from
someone whose opinion I trust."
Krishna Nikhil, Indigo's EVP of
Print and Strategy, and co-founder of RECO, adds, "Everyone agrees
the best book recommendations come from friends, but we all spend
too much time reading reviews from strangers and trusting
algorithms to tell us what to read next, often with mixed results.
RECO solves this problem by bringing personal book recommendations
from people you trust right to your mobile device."
Features of RECO:
- Connect & Share: RECO allows users to share
their favourite books in the app quickly and easily, complete with
a beautiful cover image and short recommendation message.
Users can post recommendations directly to Facebook, with
additional sharing functionality through email, text, Twitter and
LinkedIn. As well, users can publish complete book lists that
anyone can subscribe to.
- Discover: RECO helps users find great books
personalized to their interests, curated by friends and trusted
experts. Upon sign-up, users are led through a "smart"
personalization exercise to build their specific interest profile.
Based on common interests, RECO helps users find and subscribe to
curated book lists from experts and other booklovers who share
similar passions. Further, over eight million books in RECO
have been tagged with rich interest profiles to help users discover
their perfect next read.
- Capture: RECO makes it simple for users to keep track of
books they both want to read and have finished reading. Books
discovered through recommendations from friends are captured in a
simple, unified reading list. Users can also purchase books in any
format directly from Indigo and Kobo in Canada, and the leading online book and ebook
retailers in the US and internationally.
- Discuss: RECO provides users a place to discuss
great books with their friends directly in the app. In addition,
RECO has built a proprietary user matching algorithm that leverages
individuals' interests and RECO activity to introduce them to
like-minded people. RECO has no interest in recommending books
directly to users without context. Instead, RECO aspires to connect
booklovers based on common interests, who will then go on to
provide great book Recommendations to each other and spark new
conversations.
Indigo believes that books, more than any other medium, have the
power to entertain, inspire and educate. Booklovers are continually
in pursuit of their next great read and the mission of RECO is to
cultivate a community of likeminded booklovers who motivate each
other to read better books, more often. RECO already has a growing
community of notable authors and influencers such as Margaret Atwood and Neil
Pasricha, with whom users can connect directly. The
RECO iOS app was developed in close partnership with Toronto-based Retail Innovation Lab Kinetic
Café and is the first new technology venture from Indigo since it
founded Kobo in 2009.
As one of Canada's great tech
success stories, Kobo became an early leader in the global eReading
business, garnering millions of users around the world. In
early 2012, just 23 months after Indigo launched Kobo, it was sold
to Japanese online giant Rakuten for $315
million, and continues to operate as a leading global
eReading company. Indigo's successful experience with the creation
of Kobo underscored the need to continue to invest in innovative
experiences for booklovers, in every channel. RECO is now available
for download for free on iOS devices through the app store, with an
Android app coming soon.
About Indigo
Indigo is a publicly traded Canadian
company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (IDG). As the largest
book, gift and specialty toy retailer in Canada, Indigo
operates in all provinces under different banners
including Indigo Books & Music; Indigo Books,
Gifts, Kids; Indigospirit; Chapters; and Coles. The online
channel, indigo.ca, offers a one-stop online shop with a
robust selection of books, toys, home décor, stationery, and
gifts.
Indigo founded the Indigo Love of Reading
Foundation in 2004 to address the underfunding of public
elementary school libraries. Every year the Love of Reading
Foundation makes grants to high-needs elementary schools so they
can transform their libraries with the purchase of new books and
educational resources. To date, the Love of Reading
Foundation has committed over $23.5 million to 2,600
elementary schools, benefitting more than 750,000
students.
To learn more about Indigo, please visit the Our Company section
at indigo.ca.
About RECO
RECO is a social book recommendation
platform built by Indigo, a publicly traded Canadian company listed
on the Toronto Stock Exchange (IDG). Through its free iOS app, RECO
provides readers a place to discover, share, capture, and discuss
great books through Recommendations from friends and trusted
experts. RECO is a global platform that allows readers to purchase
books in any format from a wide range of retailers, depending on
region. To learn more about RECO, please visit RECO.com or download
RECO for free.
SOURCE Indigo Books & Music
Inc.