Hiya, are you online?
The Imelda Marcos-es (or alternatively, Carrie Bradshaw-es) of the world, this one is for you.
Hi all, it’s Friday Thing/k.
Online might have conquered another piece of the offline land: the social shopping experience.
For years retailers have struggled to improve their online experience, but shopping online is still a solo thing.
Groups of women / men* aren't often found huddled around computer monitors for a shopping trip.
Disclaimer: an exceptional group is the boys from Melbourne’s level 8 who actually buy shoes online together. Hint: They also work on Ford together.)
Shoppers, especially those plagued by indecision, need that interaction and purchase validation.
They need it, they now get it.
Recently, two technologies - friend-based merchandising that involves Facebook and collaborative shopping - are being rolled out to big-name retailers, including Vans and Jansport.
The collaborative-shopping technology, which is now live at Vans.com, allows consumers who are building custom shoes on the site to chat with friends in real time about the product design
Your friend can join a chat on the Vans site to give go / no-go on the design, as well as make her / his own suggestions. (So, solid prism pink or the solid fandango pink? Can’t decide).
The second piece of technology, friend-based merchandising, is now live at Jansport.com. When shoppers are viewing a product, they are given the option to "Share on Facebook".
That’s cool, but what about the coffee break after the shopping? the escalators? the not-sure-when-I-parked-was-it-B5-or-K9-experience?... there is still some hope for offline.
(First read about it: AdAge.com)
24
April
2009