Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Social shopping from back-to-school retailers
To lure more young customers, retailers are trying to make online shopping a more social experience. They're creating "elaborate online worlds that may have little to do with their products [and] employing video-sharing, social networking and even virtual reality to target the teenagers who drove sites like YouTube and Facebook to popularity," the Washington Post reports. Examples: At Sears.com you can create your own avatar, or virtual self, and virtually try on Sears clothes; "Wal-Mart started a Facebook group about dorm-room style"; and J.C. Penney and American Eagle Outfitters will have new short films in their sites every week.
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Here’s something you should know before you buy your kids new clothes at American Eagle Outfitters this summer. The company talks about social responsibility and holds events at campuses to raise cash for charities, but when it comes to the people who make their business work—the men and women who pack and ship clothes to Canadian stores at a contractor called NLS—AE falls short. I’m working with a labor union called Unite Here to let people know about the story behind the label. You can find more information at www.AmericanVulture.org.
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