Social Shopping Networks – Forget malls, shop with friends online

Posted on January 26, 2008 at 6:06 am

Don’t know what to buy for your loved ones this coming Valentine’s? Are you having a hard time thinking of what to give to your friends’ kids on their upcoming birthdays? Worry no more, because a new kind of social network has evolved for your shopping comfort. Let’s traverse the newly-built road known as “social shopping networks.”

First, here are some social websites where people can help you with your online shopping needs, even if you don’t know them!

1. Kaboodle

“Shopping is more fun with friends,” says Kaboodle’s home page. It provides recommendations and discovery for shoppers from shoppers. Recently active shoppers are shown, as well as groups, for ease in locating the company and community where you belong. Also, it has polls, compatibility tests, and discounts, to help you further decide as you shop with and among online friends.

2. ThisNext

ThisNext’s home page proudly states that they can give you “real recommendations from real people.” They have sections that present new products, as well as those that are popularly recommended. A fun feature of this social shopping network is that it has an activity map that shows shopping transactions from all around the world!

3. StyleHive

With bookmarking, blogging, subscription, and forum capabilities, StyleHive is one stylish networking site that connects the stylish online shoppers around the globe. From crafts to beauty products, even to deals and promos, StyleHive is one online shopping community to remember.

4. Zlio

Zlio One of the pioneers of online social shopping, Zlio features online shops and the shopkeepers’ activities (via voting) that determine the efficiency and trustworthiness of the shop’s owner. It also allows customizable “store” pages that can act as attraction to buyers as well.

5. SaleShout

SaleShout is a simple, blog-type website for your simple needs, from apparels to automotives, gadgets to collectibles. And it’s pretty straightforward too, as its homepage already displays items and their prices posted by different users.

The list above contains some of the most popular social shopping site in the web. A lot of users have been addicted to social shopping in these sites that they can’t help but login on them at least once daily. But would you believe that prior to its booming success last year, social shopping still is considered a small fraction of the entirety of the Internet, accounting to less than 1 percent from all visits of U.S.-based websites (statistics taken from Hitwise, a market research firm)?

However, with the money generated from revenue shares and advertisements, social shopping expanded eightfold in 2007. Due to this, Hearst Corporation, a media-entwined company with interests on newspapers and magazines, acquired Kaboodle under undisclosed terms.

Hitting two birds with one stone, Hearst was able to gain an online shopping website and a social networking one, too, in the form of Kaboodle. “This partnership will provide Kaboodle the flexibility and resources necessary to continue building the premier social shopping platform,” said Manish Chandra, CEO and founder of Kaboodle.

Although Kaboodle is rich in products for sale, users do not use it merely for buying. What sets it (and the likes of it) apart from websites selling products online is that the focus of users is not only on the product, but on the quest for buying such products. Simply put, online social shoppers enjoy the challenge and the company that they get while looking to buy certain products, which may include anything from a cute shower sponge in the shape of a mic (for bathroom singers) to umbrellas with LED-lit bodies.

Seems like the Internet’s e-commerce and chatting capacity are utilized to their fullest. So what are you waiting for? You need not call a hotline for opinions anymore. Just visit those sites and feel the mall atmosphere they exude. Loki

[tags]best online shopping, online store, online shopping, online outlet shopping, social shopping, network[/tags]

» Filed Under Cool Websites

Comments

5 Responses to “Social Shopping Networks – Forget malls, shop with friends online”

Ben said on : January 26th, 2008 at 6:56 am

Great article! Social shopping in my opinion is the wave of the future!
I escpecially liked the one SaleShout…Pretty cool and easy to register and post deals too

Loki said on : January 27th, 2008 at 11:46 pm

Wow, thanks Ben! Yeah, seems like it’s the wave of the future. Heck, the world might even be migrating to the virtual space with this!

swathivetsa said on : June 30th, 2008 at 3:34 am

Hi friends,

I am swetha , student in USA from India, I wanted t o send a gift to my friend in India on her birthday. In the idea of sending a gift I preferred to send a gift through online shopping rather than parcel or courier service .So I have done research on many websites and I came across a wonderful online shopping site http://www.kharidari.com where any one in any part of the world can do shopping .

And I think this is one of the best site for Indians who live in other countries to send gifts to their people in India, its really fantastic!! kharidari deals with different kinds of products and lots of varieties in them. I found the products are of good quality after buying in kharidari.

I was amazed on seeing the kind of products they sell and the variety of gifts they display.
I was really confused which one select. So finally I had chosen a diamond ring for her at very reasonable rate $150.00 and important thing is they had given me guarantee for that. So I was happy.

And best thing is that we need not compromise on the service they provide as it is too good and in a timely manner because I didn’t find any delay. They send my gift on the specified date.

So I am very happy sending gifts through kharidari to people in India and I had a great experience.

AJ said on : September 29th, 2008 at 11:07 am

myfavz.com could be of interest to you. It is a new startup launched on sept 8th at the techcrunch50. It is a social shopping portal with a unique patent pending feature called pKaboo!

pKaboo! enables gift givers to anonymously find out the recipient’s current interests, hobbies or perfect gift ideas. The giver’s identity is disclosed to the recipient by myfavz on the day of the event, thus maintaning the element of surprise which is so crucial to the ritual of gifting.

Let me know your views on myfavz

AJ

founder / ceo

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October 15th, 2008 at 5:06 am