Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed the fascinating integration of social media with online retail sites. Witness Levis.com using the “Like” button to generate viral popularity, or Amazon using Facebook Connect to generate product recommendations (for yourself or for others). With Boutiques.com, Google has pushed this social personalization even farther, leveraging the influence individual users have over friends (and fans).
What is Boutiques.com?
Google has long allowed users to use search to scour and sort the Internet for products. However, by integrating the technology of the recently purchased Like.com, it now provides an aesthetic experience that matches the subject matter (fashion, in the case of Boutiques.com) while still aggregating products from across shopping sites.
The interesting part of the site though is not in the visual presentation though, but primarily in the organization of products by influencer. Here, virtual “boutiques” are curated by cultural icons (e.g. celebrities, designers, bloggers, etc.), allowing users to peruse, save, and share the icon-recommended products. In participating in this way, the user is simultaneously forming her or his own personal “boutique,” which can be similarly browsed.
Why is this interesting?
Whereas crowd surfing is already becoming mainstream in many online retail experiences, Boutiques.com is leveraging the influence of the individual person. It’s less about the mass popularity of an individual item (as on the Levi’s site), and more about the exclusivity of an item. I’ve always been able to open a fashion magazine to see what Sarah Michelle Gellar is wearing, but now I can shop a “boutique” that is populated with items recommended directly (in theory) by Sarah Michelle Gellar. Moreover, I can now shop a “boutique” created by my wife, or a coworker, or a local band. The locus of trendiness becomes much broader in this kind of a model.
While this concept is fascinating, Boutiques.com does miss on a few opportunities. Most notably, it shirks a direct tie-in with popular social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. I suspect that the model would be greatly enhanced by allowing users to login via Facebook Connect, thus linking the individual’s “boutique” into her account. Users CAN share items via standard share functionality, but there is an opportunity for greater integration.
What does this mean for brands?
The era of social media dominance marches on. The ability for companies to directly control brand perception continues to become more challenging as individuals gain influence. This is a tremendous opportunity for those brands that are focused on offering outstanding products and services. Why? These are the companies that generate zealotry among its fans. And those zealots are the ones who influence those within their networks.
Authored by Terrence
