I’ve seen this phrase thrown around a lot, and more often than not it means clicking a “Like” widget next to a product, or posting that you just purchased something into your Facebook news feed.

Etsy took a stab at gift recommendations for Friends which actually seemed logical and useful. Gift giving is typically a more serendipitous activity than shopping for clothing — but not always. Auditioning products to add to your personal wardrobe involves a sense of practicality and more than a dab of whimsy.

Shopping is most fun with people you trust because you want a second opinion… You may know what you want, to an extent, but you are wide open to being surprised and delighted. Shopping with friends. Shopping with people you trust. Having a conversation about shopping while shopping. Talking about things you want to buy, the back and forth, the “what do you think about this one or that one?” …the dialogue.

That’s what social shopping means to me.

GTIO just launched our first version of what social shopping should mean on your mobile device. Our approach is about connecting you to your friends to help you decide what to wear.

There are two parts to this.

Part I: Friends know best.

·When asked what sources “influence your decision to use or not use a particular company, brand or product” 71% claim reviews from family members or friends exert a “great deal” or “fair amount” of influence. (Harris Interactive, June 2010, via bazaarvoice.com/)

· 67% of shoppers spend more online after recommendations from online community of friends. (Internet Retailer, September 2009 via bazaarvoice.com/)

We want to help you curate the web via your friends. Helping you answer the age-old question, “what should I wear?” is about getting advice from those who know YOU best. Now you can get advice about what your friends think you should buy. Go on, play stylist.

Part II: Less is more.

· “Whether we’re buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions — both big and small — have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented” (The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz)

The web feels infinite. And for women today, shopping online is overwhelming, with seemingly hundreds of choices. Which site (ASOS, Shopbop, Bloomingdales, etc.) should I browse, and where should I buy? And once I’m in… which product is best for me? Do I keep hitting “next page” to see what other items could work? Which one is just right? This takes time, and fashion should never feel like a burden… When it’s done right, shopping should be fun, and freeing.

Meet the GTIO boutique. We do the hard part. We’ve built a tool to engineer a mobile store front that brings in the best of the web when it comes to clothing. We pull items from all the best stores ensuring that prices are not Net-a-Porter high nor Forever 21 - low, but just right. We have some trend pieces, mixed with classics. Don’t find anything you want to recommend to a friend? No problem; we highlight shortcuts to stores for you, and you can deep dive into these mobile sites to find just the right item for those you know best.

We believe in a finite number of options. We believe you shouldn’t have to do too much work nor have to think too much about what will be just right for you. So we curate, and edit, and cut, and intelligently surface the best possible choices for you. From there, you and your friends can decide what is right, selecting from a quality list of items. You can’t go wrong.

We believe 2012 should be about moving beyond the overwhelming ‘fire hose’ of information that is today’s web. We believe in bringing back the fun of discovery and collaboration in online shopping, by surfacing the best choices and enabling meaningful experiences with friends.

 

  

I had signed up for StyleMint (a “club of the month” type of clothing company) where you get to select a shirt each month for $29.99 and get it sent to you in the mail. First month, I signed up, selected my shirt and received it. I wasn’t thoroughly excited or impressed with the shirt, but wanted to test out the service as I’m fascinated by these mass-style subscription services.

Next month on my credit card I was billed $29.99 via StyleMint, and thought twice about the charge and forgot it, as I had not received any other items form them. And again, this month saw the charge again. I realized (as I have still not received any more shirts) the company charges you monthly and allows for “credits” to accrue…assumingly for when you are ready to select the shirts/picks you’d like you must log in, take action and then they are shipped.

I felt cheated and tricked by the company… To charge my card and not send me items in the mail does not seem like a good way to go about business. It feels dishonest, it feels like stealing…To claim “oh you should have read the fine print” or “it’s on you to cancel each month” seems… distasteful and like shirking responsibilities on the company’s part (at very least, send me the products!)… I’ve posted to their Facebook wall (see above)…

If nothing else, this experience as a customer has proven to me we will never do business like this. We will never charge cards in a way that could be perceived as deceitful or “tricky”. No customer service rep of mine will ever say things like “oh you should have read the fine print …”. It’s not the money or the lack of a clear way to cancel my subscription that turns me off most, it’s the feeling/the taste that StyleMint has now left in my mouth. This mechanism for gaining revenue is not in the name of the customer. It taste like cheating. I’d be weary of revenue numbers a company like that projects, to pull in cash and book it as revenue and use those numbers as proxies for happy customers, well, it’s not the way I will ever do business. No thanks.