| jhidalgo@rgj.com
Viewers of "Sex and the City" can attest that shopping
and socializing easily go hand in hand.
But while combining shopping and friendly chatter in the real
world is a snap, combining both in one online venture can be as
tricky to figure out as the aforementioned TV show's Mr. Big. Mark
Stein, however, is willing to give it a shot.
As chief executive officer of VirtualEShopping.com, Stein is
hoping to attract consumers using a formula that features
shopping, social networking and a virtual 3D world that can be
explored with personalized avatars. Stein launched his site in
August with 250 virtual malls representing different cities around
the world, including an online hub for shoppers in the
"Biggest Little City" — VirtualEReno.com. Stein hopes
to have 275 cities represented in the mall by the end of
September.
At the center of the virtual sites' hook is a downloadable program
that mimics the look and feel of a real mall. The virtual mall
features storefronts with doors and signage for such stores as
Barnes & Noble, Best Buy and Zales, spread out in an expansive
space featuring lower and upper levels. The mall can be explored
by using a 3D virtual character that visitors create.
One of the ideas behind the virtual mall is to get that same sense
of serendipity from walking through a real mall, which normally is
not captured by typical online shopping sites, Stein said.
"It feels like you're moving through a physical mall
space," Stein said. "It's just like me going inside a
mall and walking past a Verizon store and remembering that I need
to get new batteries (for one of my devices). It's one of those
things where you're not thinking about getting something until you
walk past it."
Clicking on storefronts takes customers to those businesses' Web
sites. Some storefronts will also feature virtual ad posters for
specific products that a business wants to feature. Clicking on
those ads will take consumers to the Web page for the specific
product instead of the merchant's general site.
Visitors to the virtual mall can also click on storefronts or
kiosks to get coupons. For those who do not want to explore the 3D
mall, an option to view a map or simple list of stores and offers
is also available.
Currently, the 3D mall is populated mostly by national retailers,
but Stein hopes that will change as more local stores sign up for
the service.
"Our hope is that as more local people find out about this,
then we'll start replacing those national retailers with local
stores and attractions," Stein said. "Eventually, a
local site should start looking like the city itself."
To join the virtual mall, businesses need to register with a
credit card and put down a $50 deposit.
After that, the only thing a merchant needs to pay for is a
10-cent charge for each click the site generates for the business.
Merchants have an option to pay more per click, which also allows
them to have a presence closer to the virtual mall's main atrium.
One extra twist with the site is the addition of a social
networking component so visitors can chat with other shoppers. Key
targets for the virtual mall include stay-at-home moms and the
18-to-24-year-old MySpace and Facebook crowd. Stein hopes to
attract men as well, not necessarily with the shopping but the
social networking component.
Since the site just launched, membership is still low. But Stein
is banking on the virtual mall combined with social networking to
pique consumers' interest in the site.
"Being able to meet real people is what really makes (the
site) come alive," Stein said. "We want to give people
some of those benefits of going to a real mall. We also hear a lot
of comments from people saying 'The only time I can shop is when
the kids are in bed.' This provides them an opportunity to meet
friends and chat while shopping." |
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