Retailers Using Real-Time Facebook Likes On Clothing

Retailers Using Real-Time Facebook Likes On Clothing

We want to know your thoughts on this…

If the racks of clothes at C&A’s Brazilian stores could talk, they’d say, “You like me! You really like me!” The international fashion chain is testing the power of Facebook (FB) to prompt in store purchases with hangers that digitally display the number of “likes” an item racks up on the social network, in real time.

The retailer is betting that more “likes” will mean greater sales of an item — but will they? “There hasn’t really been research yet measuring the value of a ‘like’ in-store, since this is such a new area for marketing,” Krista Garcia, an analyst with digital market research firm eMarketer, tells DailyFinance.

But the value of “likes” on Facebook itself might offer a clue. Although figures vary, a new study by Imbue Marketing has “determined that a ‘like’ is worth $8, and a share on Facebook is worth even more, at $14,” she says. While the jury is still out on if retailers can meaningfully monetize their Facebook pages to drive product sales — either online or in their brick-and-mortar stores — marketers are clearly seeing the growing influence of peer opinions on social networks.

“Having a shopper ‘like’ you can be the first step in a relationship. There’s no doubt about that,” Wendy Liebmann, CEO and chief shopper of WSL Strategic Retail, a marketing consulting firm that works with manufacturers and retailers, tells DailyFinance. However, for many shoppers, that’s not enough, she says.

“Shoppers tell us they expect to actually get something for liking you. That means an offer, a discount, something special. Otherwise, you’re just one more ‘like’ in an ever-growing sea of ‘likes.'”

So what’s the verdict on this one friends?? What happens when hangers get mixed up??? Then what??

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