It seems that every third or fourth post on the weblog recently has something to do with social. Today is no different as Website Magazine staffers are at the Internet Retailer trade show. As you can imagine at an ecommerce convention, it's all about shopping and doing it well. Senior Editor Mike Phillips will be covering and reporting back on the sessions this afternoon and tomorrow, while I will be leading the insider interview charge. First up is Kevin Foreman of recently launched Bevy, a social shopping (dubbed a social fashion discovery service) solution where women "discuss and discover" fashion with friends and other members who share similar characteristics.
As you walk the hall of the IR tradeshow, one thing is clear - social is where it's at. Social merchandising, the integration of social networking and product discovery, is the focus of Bevy and while by all accounts a newborn babe in the world of shopping services (just 10 days old), Bevy is already one of the fastest growing applications on Facebook. The application enables users to discover styles from fellow members based on age, gender and body type. The benefit to retailers is that this social focus offers a direct connection to a quite valuable target market. With brands like Manolo Blahnik, Armani, Tretron and Zac Posen from 29 different retail partners such as Nordstrom, AEO, Areopostale, Guess! and others.
In a world where we all trust our peers more so than advertising and marketing, reccomendations (that seems to be a key theme in today's ecommerce environment) influence purchases more now than ever.