Social networking a waste of time for many retailers
Mothercare made a bit of a splash when it launched its social networking site Gurgle and other retailers have since followed.
By Glynn Davies
Waitrose started its site and ASOS announced that it also plans to do the same. Since MySpace and Facebook shot to promimence all retailers want to get closer to their customers through social networking. The only problem is that unless the retail brand and the products it sells have a real affinity with the shopper then I can’t see what interest there will be from consumers. And unless the site is free of corporate pressure and there is no overt editorial censorship then it is an entirely pointless exercise. Parents clearly have an affinity with their kids and Mothercare’s social networking site is run via a third-party which is why is it proving popular. Many other retailers might not enjoy the same levels of success with their social networking efforts so my suggestion to many is don’t waste your time.
