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Shopablogic

Sober IT truths from the island-state

by Suzanna Low, Singapore

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Social media has gone e-commerce with Shoplette

Feb 14, 2009 16:50

The online social network is growing like crazy and everyday new social network sites are sprouting up faster than you can say Web 2.0. A couple of weeks ago I came across a Singapore setup that was an online shopping site on Facebook called www.shoplette.com. It was developed by Singapore Web startup Mobrick.

At first glance it looks like another eBay or Etsy where people list their stuff to sell on the site. However, Shoplette is more than that. It rides on the social media network where the trend is now sharing your finds (or for some shops, free publicity) for others to know. Like, for example, someone posting a pair of Chanel diamond earrings that cost S$340 (I hope that's a good bargain) which is sold at the Takashimaya flagship store.

On the other hand, anyone who wishes to sell off his or her used or unused items can also post it on Shoplette. Even myself, with my own online mall, can "open" a shop on Shoplette and use it as an advertising platform for my Web site. But there's one difference to Shoplette--you cannot purchase directly from the site as there is no "Buy Now" button if the seller uses the free listing. But it features a section call "Location" which the seller or contributer can list down the addresses or Web sites of the store.

It also has a map feature if you want to input the full address into the system. That makes it easy to search for the shop, especially if it's in an unknown location. With the Web 2.0 technology, Shoplette also allows its members to comment on the listings and even copies the links into their blogs. Although Shoplette doesn't list its products by many categories, the listings can be searched by tags, and usually you will know what products are most listed by the visibility of the tags.

Although Shoplette is a free social shopping platform, any seller who wishes to do more can subscribe to Shoplette's Shopping Cart Service which provides his or her shop with e-commerce features and a custom payment or ready-made Paypal payment system for US$15/month, or even to get the shop listed as a feature shop for only US$6/month. With the Shopping Cart service, shops get a full-featured shopping cart and Buy buttons for the items they post for sale so that Shoplette members and visitors can easily order items from their shop directly on Shoplette, as well as simple inventory control and order management features.

That's US$180/year, which is so much cheaper than setting up your own e-commerce store with all the hassle and work.

In this new generation, people love to share, especially on new and interesting things they have found. When you share, you feel good. This feeling is boosted when that person is the first to share the finds online. Honestly, the online sharing trend started long ago in the US, and over in Singapore, we have only just begun.

So check out the coolest finds in the world of shopping, flaunt your shopping knowledge, or to set up a shop with e-commerce features in under 5 minutes. Check out www.shoplette.com.

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About Suzanna Low

Suzanna Low has more than a decade of hands-on in interactive and graphics design, e-commerce and online marketing. In fact, true to the Singapore culture, she's a diehard shopaholic and fancies herself a pioneering e-retailer who learned the painful way how to set up store back when ecommerce emerged on the Internet landscape. Low also claims to speak feline language and sometimes seeks approval for her blog topics with her two house cats.