Yahoo Buys Social Commerce Site Polyvore

Yahoo announced this afternoon that it was buying social shopping destination Polyvore. Yahoo said in its release that the acquisition would “strengthen Yahoo’s digital magazines and verticals through the incorporation of community and commerce, and together Yahoo and Polyvore will power native shopping ads that drive traffic and sales to retailers.”

There’s also a strong mobile shopping angle here.

Yahoo did not disclose the purchase price but said that after the acquisition closes, the Polyvore brand will continue. It won’t become the new Yahoo Shopping — although I suspect it will get an overhaul.

Polyvore disclosed at one point that its audience was more than 70 percent female. The vast majority are under 45, with more than 50 percent of its audience under the age of 34. The company also says that its “average basket size across retail partners is over $383, which is higher than other leading social networks combined.”

Yahoo sees a range of uses for Polyvore, as indicated in the quote above:

• Digital magazines (content + community)
• Support for its “Mavens” collection of offerings: mobile, video, native, social

It’s a move that’s broadly consistent with Yahoo’s audience and growth strategy. We don’t know the price, but it seems to be a smart acquisition that should strengthen Sunnyvale’s relationships with retailers and the advertising options it can offer them.