Online trading brings social engagement to fashion shopping experience

Little Black Bag sells mystery packs of brand name fashion items and encourages shoppers to trade and discuss.

While retail outlets are finding increasing success in taking the shopping experience online, the search goes on for a compelling social shopping experience, allowing users to interact with one another as well as their favorite brands. TheStyleCure is one website that has recently tried to help shoppers easily share their potential purchases with friends through Facebook, and now Little Black Bag aims to get shoppers to exchange the products themselves. Based on the Japanese concept of ‘fukubukuro’ — or ‘lucky bag sale’ — Little Black Bag gets shoppers to first pick a mystery goody bag of top-name fashion and beauty products. Then consumers have a week to search the site’s marketplace to try and swap their items and build their perfect set. After all trading has finished, the bag is then sent out to the shopper. Little Black Bag says that the experience puts the fun and excitement back into retail therapy and offers the site’s users the chance to discover some new products they may not have otherwise tried. As an incentive, the company will also offer regular prizes worth 4-to-5 times the value of the bags. Little Black Bag has already secured brands such as Z Spoke by Zac Posen, BCBGeneration, Betsey Johnson and Kenneth Jay Lane, and hopes to add shoes and accessories to its virtual shelves in the coming months. Bags start at USD 59.95. Little Black Bag will be hoping that it has hit upon a new way to engage shoppers online. Could this sort of social interaction be good for your online business? Spotted by: Eric Tan