Shopping malls set to be replicated in e-world
Shopping online is easier than shopping in a mall — as long as you know exactly what you want to buy. The problem comes when you don't know what you want.
The web has yet to duplicate the real-world feel of a mall. But now, many entrepreneurs have their sights set on better replicating those experiences online, creating a category of e-commerce loosely known as social shopping. Venture capitalists are opening their pocketbooks for these new start-ups , and even some of the biggest players in e-commerce , like Amazon and eBay, have introduced their own social features.
The social shopping sites essentially compile stylish goods of similar sensibility from shops around the Web, and make it easy to share with friends what items they like and buy. Most of the sites have adopted the interface of pinning images on a virtual bulletin board popularized by Pinterest , one of the most popular social networks.
Deena Varshavskaya, the founder and chief executive of the social shopping site Wanelo , which she started in late 2010, said sites like Amazon, eBay and Etsy had made people comfortable with buying things online. But as more companies and shops migrated to web, it became harder to find cool, stylish and quirky items, giving entrepreneurs an opening.
