Déjà Vu: How Homejoy, Like Fab.com, Neglected Customer Retention And Paid The Price

At first glance, newly shut down housecleaning startup Homejoy and long-beleaguered flash sale site Fab.com, which is still live today, have pretty much nothing in common. Homejoy facilitated on-demand cleaning services through a platform that matched contracted cleaners to customers, a poster child of the recently buzzy “on-demand marketplace” model and part of the even buzzier sharing economy. Separately, Fab.com is a flash sales site that sold design-fueled knickknacks and cool modern furniture, and one of the superstars of the flash sales site bubble of just a few years ago.