Why I think customer reviews and social shopping are important. Social shopping is an interesting concept that divides opinion among web commenters.

Most agree that social shopping is a specific type of web service with its roots in the social explosion of Web 2.0.

In its purest form, the best social shopping sites provide an open independent platform where users can add products, post a review, or rate a product. Sites are service-oriented, provide the tools for others to use, and as such rely heavily on user-generated content to set the agenda.

In essence, the opportunity now exists for consumers to come together, discuss specific products and brands, and provide an authentic alternative voice to the brand-led marketing activity and conventional expert reviews we are all subject to in other media.

By sharing product knowledge and experiences, creating useful content, an empowered community consensus can emerge, highlighting the gems and warning against hyped failures: products that disappoint and don’t deliver.

This type of user-generated content has real value and satisfies an important element of the online buying process: research, which accounts for 80% of a consumer’s time when shopping online.

Social shopping sites combine social elements, such as features of a social networking community, with aspects of shopping, such as product reviews, ratings, and deal hunting.

Some of the most nimble social shopping sites use the Twitter API and Facebook Connect to access the conversation online, providing context for product-related tweets on Twitter and the distribution of product reviews through Facebook.

Social shopping sites can be seen as a value-added evolution of the affiliate model, as they seek to monetize website content (user-generated product reviews and ratings) by sending traffic to third-party merchant sites where they can purchase products. .

My starting position is to agree with the mantra that “customer recommendation is the holy grail of advertising.” We know this is true in the real world: If your friends and neighbors rave about your new car, lawnmower, laptop, or digital camera, it will carry weight, take note.

The same is true online: reviews and recommendations are very powerful; especially those from people with status in a community, and those provided weeks and months after purchase; only the scale and dynamics of the relationships differ. So the potential of social shopping and what it brings to us as consumers, product designers, specialty retailers and brands that really engage and respond to their community is very exciting.

Some stats and predictions from rantorave.

According to a Nielsen global survey of 26,486 Internet users in 47 markets, consumer recommendations are the most credible form of advertising among 78% of survey respondents. (Nielsen, “Word of mouth, the most powerful sales tool”).

83% of shoppers said online product ratings and reviews influenced their purchases. decisions (Opinion Research Corporation, a informationGROUP company, July 2008).

76% of US retailers said user-generated content would have a greater impact in your marketing goals in the near future. (SLI Systems/Zoomerang, November 2008).

56% of UK website owners say it user-generated content raises conversion rates; 77% say it increases traffic; Y 42% say it increases average spending on the site (eConsultancy survey of 360 website owners across all industries, November 2008).

By 2020, 84% of marketers agree that building customer trust will become the main goal of marketing, and 82% agree that collaboration with customers will prevail over marketing. (Survey 1to1 Media April, 2008).

Top 10 Social Shopping Sites: (Please note that I can only submit an article with 4 links)

1. Kaboodle – http://www.kaboodle.com a great site, possibly the market leader for female consumers. Now owned by Hearst Digital Media.
2. ThisNext – Another solid site with an emphasis on female consumers, this site feels like a great window shopping experience with expert Maverns on hand.
3. Tribesmart – http://www.tribesmart.com this site uses twitter and facebook connect. There are some great tools like the personal list builder and community messaging features based on the ‘Tribes’ idea. Like Veedow, Wists and Crowdstorm, it could appeal to both genders and this is where the gap in the market potentially lies, as Kaboodle, OSOYOU and ThisNext seem to have made a claim in the younger female market.
4. Veedow – a bit confusing site, a good idea, hasn’t realized its full potential yet in my opinion
5. Stylehive – Feels less like a pure gaming social shopping site these days, it has a heavy emphasis on the aspiring celebrity fashion/lifestyle writers you follow. It’s not as vibrant as Twitter, though you can see where they’re going.
6. Jungle Raft – A new entrant, listed as a new concept with a clear proposition in terms of getting the best Amazon deals
7. Stylefeeder: Offers to help users discover products based on their unique tastes. It looks a bit off beat and has some annoying and tacky pop-up ads. All a bit old school.
8. Crowdstorm: The site is a Digg type site for products, based on rumors and a network of expert opinions, although it seems to have gone quiet for the last 12 months.
9. Shopstyle – Feels like an eCommerce site with price discounts on display. It lacks any obvious reviews or community features, although the stylebooks feature is really nice as it allows people to put looks together and share them; however, the ‘sale alert’ feature could be useful and the site has linked with Elle magazine in the past.
10. Wists – A trending site about what’s new and what people plan to buy

There are many others, sites like Shopcorn and Naturalbornshoppers to name just two.