Last week, I wrote an article about how reading is becoming increasingly social. The fashion industry isn’t far behind. Social shopping is taking off, and there’s no better example than ModCloth to emphasize what the future of online shopping could be.

ModCloth is a vintage-inspired clothing, accessory and home-goods site that was started in 2002 in a dorm room by a couple of high-school sweethearts. What’s so cool about ModCloth (other than the fantastic, unique clothing and items) is how thoroughly social is integrated into their site and app.

Randi in ModCloth on her book tour

The simplest and arguably most successful social integration is their Style Gallery. Through this feature, customers can upload pictures of themselves wearing ModCloth clothing. This serves a dual purpose; customers have fun sharing their fashionista finds and potential customers find inspiration on how to wear certain pieces. I loved seeing actual people in the clothing, as opposed to the mannequins or models you’d normally find on fashion sites. (Another plus– ModCloth models come in all shapes and sizes). And it’s been a huge success– in the year since the Style Gallery was introduced, over 16,000 photos have been uploaded to the site.

The ModCloth Style Gallery

Another way customers can share what they think is through the reviews section. Under each product, customers can write in and share their thoughts on the quality, fit and value of any product, as well as upload a photo of themselves modeling the item. While this isn’t unique to ModCloth, permitting customer feedback allows for smarter shopping, as well as ensures high quality. When too many customers are making the same complaint (scratchy material, etc.), the company has little choice but to make a change.

Another innovative solution, ModCloth’s Be The Buyer program, allows community members to vote on items being considered for the site. After signing in, shoppers can vote to either ‘Skip’ or ‘Pick’ items. A ModCloth representative, Aire Plichta, told me that pieces that customers vote on typically sell up to twice as much as other pieces. In the four years since the program has launched, over 20 million votes have been cast.

ModCloth is democratizing fashion by giving customers the clothes they want to wear, and paying attention to what their consumers are saying. If you browse through their site, there are sidebars everywhere featuring “Most-Loved” clothing or “Trending Now,” which gives you sense of what other people are purchasing.

Their focus on mobile is key. Nearly 50% of their traffic now comes from their updated iOS and Android apps, much of it probably fueled by their early access strategy for app users, including early access to sales and promos.

Randi (in ModCloth) with actress Uzo Aduba who plays Crazy Eyes from Orange Is The New Black!

They’re doing something right. ModCloth, a self-described indie, vintage store, has over one million likes on Facebook, putting them on par with nationwide retailers in terms of social media presence.

Shopping is an inherently social activity– people love shopping with their friends and getting feedback on their purchases. Features like the ones ModCloth has implemented start to capture the feeling of shopping with others and can help make online shopping feel social again.

What do you think? Do you like reading reviews and seeing what others are buying on fashion sites?

ModCloth helped keep Randi in 24/7 dots on the book tour!

Disclosure: ModCloth helped sponsor the Dot Complicated book tour

Posted on 12/11/2013

Written by Liz Wassmann

Liz Wassmann is on the Dot Complicated editorial team and has written for a variety of Bay Area publications over the past several years. When she’s not reading or writing, she can be found daydreaming about her next trip overseas and practicing parallel parking.

Comments

comments