Initial feedback indicates these social shopping tools may have broader applications than simply mimicking the in-store shopping experience and wider appeal than among cutting-edge youth looking for a new experience.
One website that developed a social shopping application exclusively for young people is Scallyroo.com. They have taken the socialized experience of going to the mall with friends and made this available online. This new application allows their members to create product polls (ex. “Which Product Is Better?”), receive product advice from friends and allows them to offer up their opinions to help friends make the right product decisions.
'Not sure of what pair of jeans to buy? Ask your friends to vote on it. Looking to get a new mp3 player but not sure of which brand is best for you? Your friends can definitely help in that department.' This ground-breaking application not only operates as a full on shopping tool, it has become a sounding board for young consumers to deliver unsolicited product advice.
What appealed to Scallyroo.com co-founder Ryan Garelick was the social aspect of the tool. Recognizing that its members' peers are their biggest influencers, Scallyroo “wanted to make the experience on the site as fun as possible while bringing in those influencers in the product decision process” he explained.
Some surprising things have happened as well. “Our users are shopping not only with their friends, but also with siblings, parents and other relatives,” said Garelick. Because the tool is bringing in consumers who weren't aware of the site previously, Scallyroo believes “there is a branding aspect to this as well as a return-on-investment perspective,”
Since launching this social-shopping tool earlier this fall, Scallyroo has seen increases in its average order value and conversion rates. Customers are also spending more time on the site, Garelick added.
The Scallyroo team also figured out a way to drum up interest in products beyond simple friends and family communication. They developed a proprietary algorithm that can suggest products to members, based on their viewing patterns as well as their friends viewing patterns. This coupled with recently added functionality that enables members to see the top five most viewed items on the site (or as they call them "Hot Items"), is driving significant traffic to retailers. This "Hot Items" list is perpetually updated and doubles as a great trend barometer for what's "hot" this season for young people.
These shopping tools are seamlessly integrating into Scallyroo's full product mix, which ranges from social networking, to social media, and social planning - all for the teen / tween market demo.
