Failed 2023
Zulily
Flash sales e-commerce was a 2010s trend that Amazon and social commerce killed. Qurate lost $2.4B on the acquisition.
Founded → Closed
2009 → 2023
Funding Raised
$600M
Industry
E-commerce
Country
USA
IdeaProof AI Failure Score
55/100
Market Fit Risk
45
Burn Rate Risk
60
Founder Risk
20
Full Analysis
Zulily was a flash-sale site for moms, offering daily deals on baby, kids, and home products. The company IPO'd in 2013 and was acquired by Qurate Retail for $2.4B in 2015. But the flash-sale model faded as Amazon offered lower prices with faster delivery. Social commerce (Instagram, TikTok) captured the discovery shopping experience. Qurate shut down Zulily in December 2023, writing off the entire investment.
Could This Failure Have Been Prevented?
IdeaProof's AI validates market demand, competitive positioning, and business model viability in minutes — catching the exact issues that sank Zulily.