New Social Network for Shoppers

09/08/2008

It’s a well-known marketing fact that shoppers act on feedback from friends, family and acquaintances. It works better than any paid advertising. A new social network, TurnTo, aims to capitalize on this fact.

TurnTo, a social shopping network from TurnTo Networks Inc., allows shoppers to trade information. “How is this different from other sites where shoppers can get feedback,” you may be wondering. The twist with TurnTo is that users can view a list of purchases their friends have made. Taking it one step further, upon viewing the list, friends can then contact each other, soliciting feedback on the product purchased.

This technology is simple to use for retailers. All it requires is a simple widget installed on their site. Beside the widget, a tiny icon appears that entices shoppers to search to see if they have friends who shop on the site.

Once this tiny icon is clicked on, much like other social networking sites, shoppers can create an account, manage their profile and see a list of friends and their purchases. In a measure to leave privacy in the hands of the shopper, members can suppress product purchases they don’t wish others to view.

Widget Interactivity
Via the TurnTo widget, shoppers can interface with other online tools they may already be using, e.g., Facebook, Yahoo, email and other social networking outlets. TurnTo has all of the functionality of a regular social networking site, allowing users to import friend names and email addresses. Emulating the viral effectiveness of social networking, members can invite their friends to join TurnTo by simply sending an email inviting them to do so.

TurnTo Launch
This new social shopping network launched recently on several online retailers, i.e., Angara, Inc., an online jeweler; Earthwatch Institute, a travel site; and Teavana Corp., a specialty tea site. The company says it has already lined up four more online retailers who will launch its use by the end of the month – with more to come in the near future.