Social
Shopping
the new mall
By Sonja Hegman Andras
R
emember Aqua Netting your
hair up to hit the mall with
your best friends? The mall
was the place to be if you
were anybody 20+ years ago.
But in the 2010s, cruising the mall
is sooooo last century. Since the
vast majority of communication
takes place online, it was only a
matter of time before shopping
followed suit. Thanks to Amazon,
we can order anything our hearts
desire without leaving the couch
and our smartphone. Now, trips to
the mall with your BFF have been
replaced with online “shopping
communities” where fashionistas
the world over can dish on
the latest trends (I hear faux
fur vests are HUGE for fall).
Mobile apps are taking the
fashion world by storm, and
with that in mind, here are
a few of the latest apps
that embrace the idea of
“social shopping.”
jackets that fit their personal style
and tastes.” This recently launched
social shopping community allows
users to post their favorite items
and browse awesome finds from
other contributors. Users can shop
top brands (like Nasty Gal and
Nordstrom), share and comment on
amazing discoveries, find merchant
discounts ranging from 30-70
percent, and click to buy any item
from the original seller. The app is
available for iPhone and Android,
but you can use an “old fashioned”
browser on your computer. Content
is contributed by you, your friends
and fellow community members;
professional staff curators who are
paid to unearth the Bestie of the
best; and hundreds of top
brands and boutiques like Bebe,
clothes, hottest accessories and
hippest products from vegan purple
hair dye to $37,000 Rolex watches,
meet Bestie. Bestie is part fashion
finder service, part virtual mall, and
part social network for shopaholics.
“We started posting products that
our curators were finding interesting
several months ago when our
website was just a shell with no
functionality, and suddenly we had
16,000 Facebook followers,” said
Bestie co-founder Gary Lipovetsky.
“That showed us that people were
hungry for a place to find unusual
products from $24 crochet dresses
to $2,000+ designer
Bestie
If you’re tired of slogging
through dozens of
websites and apps in
a quest for the coolest
1
Bloomingdale’s, Etsy, FreePeople,
Net-a-Porter, Shopbop and Victoria’s
Secret.
GoodShop
Mobile shoppers looking for big
savings at their favorite stores can
turn to the Goodshop app, a new iOS
app with the latest coupons and
deals at more than 5,000 online
stores. In addition to being a great
way to save
money, the
Goodshop app
adds some extra
meaning, as a
percentage of
virtually every
purchase is
donated to
the shopper’s
favorite cause.