For generations, shopping has been an innately social behavior. But over time, the tradition of visiting the town shop with friends and family has evolved dramatically. Today, consumers can consult friends and fellow shoppers on potential purchases from the comfort of their homes.
Amrita Singh, a New York City-based jewelry eTailer, is recreating the traditional brick-and-mortar experience for the web using social commerce solutions from BevyUp. On the e-Commerce site, shoppers can access top-trending accessories, tag products and ask their friends for advice before making a purchase.
Since Amrita Singh implemented BevyUp in August 2013, up to 5% of all monthly sales have been generated through the tool, according to Vika Osipenko, Digital Marketing Manager for Amrita Singh.
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“As an exclusively online retailer, we’re always looking for ways to replicate the in-store experience,” said Osipenko in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “Most people enjoy shopping with friends to spend quality time, as well as to receive validation for potential purchases.”
Comparing the tool to “hanging out at the mall with girlfriends,” Osipenko explained that BevyUp allows consumers to “quickly browse the same product or products, and solicit feedback via sentiment stickers or even have a conversation via the chat feature.”
The “like it” and “love it” stickers, for example, allow customers to easily navigate their favorite products, while the “what do you think?” tag helps them garner feedback from friends and family before completing a transaction. Two people can connect to share a shopping session and compare items as if they’re browsing in a physical location.
“BevyUp provides us with an intuitive way to make online shopping a social experience,” Osipenko said. “It also has the added benefit of serving as a shared wish list. Imagine two friends sharing a BevyUp session, tagging and discussing their favorite items. BevyUp saves the session so now both girls have access to a list of items the other loved.”
Using Social Data To Personalize Marketing And Merchandising
Data from all shopping sessions are collected and integrated into a single dashboard, so the Amrita Singh team can easily access information on customers who have engaged with the BevyUp platform.
“We’re able to see engagement down to the individual product level, which gives us immediate insight into our merchandising and pricing strategies,” Osipenko said. The variety of data also provides “a handy comparison between consumers who engage in BevyUp, versus those who do not.”
When comparing consumers using the BevyUp tool versus those who do not, Osipenko added: “We consistently see increased time on site, increased page views and higher average order values for those customers who engage with BevyUp features.”
In the future, Amrita Singh plans to participate in more thorough data collection and analysis to create highly personalized marketing and merchandising strategies. Osipenko said she is “looking forward” to adding an ability to deliver immediate on-site offers based on individual customer feedback and product sentiment. “We love that BevyUp provides us with product price and sentiment reading on visitors who haven’t necessarily purchased anything yet, as well as actual customers.”
Although Amrita Singh hasn’t executed a marketing campaign to promote the social commerce tool, the company has already seen a 2% adoption rate, Osipenko reported. But in the near term, Amrita Singh will release a series of newsletter blasts and blog posts “explaining the features and benefits of using BevyUp platform on our site, as well as social media teasers.”
