[3][4][5] Deena Varshavskaya founded the company because she felt frustrated by shopping in physical malls and wanted a social media platform that would allow her to see what her friends were buying.

[12] Wanelo is a social platform where users can share and search for items,[13] which they purchase through the retailer's website.

[18][21] The site's layout, which allows users to save and share images of items, has been compared to Pinterest.

[18][19] Retailers whose products are posted on the website are able to create store pages, which they can organize and manage.

[22][23] Some retailers, including Abercrombie & Fitch added cross-functionality with Wanelo to their own online storefronts.