GetMyCloset: Swap, Share and Sell Clothes Online

GetMyCloset is a recently launched site that enables users to share and swap their clothing, as well as sell both new and second-hand clothing and accessories. GetMyCloset was founded as a solution to the current shopping climate: we want to feel excited about our clothes, but have limited financial resources and are concerned about the environmental impact of creating, shipping, and packaging new clothes.

Says founder Raquel Ohana: "Going shopping with a friend on Oxford Street one Friday afternoon during the sales was so exiting. I saw myself heading home with bags full of new clothes at discount prices! Unfortunately, the magic shopping experience was neither as enjoyable nor as pleasant as I expected... Discounts and offers were uninteresting, especially in an economic downturn when clothes and accessories are considered ‘non-essential’ purchases. Therefore, we women are less likely to spend enough to renew our closets! Disappointed, I returned home bag-less. I then opened my closet... it was already FULL! This is a problem for most of us: we need space and cheap clothes! This is why I set up an online marketplace where fashionistas can - from the comfort of their home - swap the clothes they don’t feel like wearing anymore, and get something different, something original, something timeless, that someone else was tired of!"

To find individuals with similar tastes, users can join trend groups in categories such as 'Quirky Quintessential', 'Denim Addict', and 'Miss Avant-Garde.' Additionally, Ohana hopes that emerging designers will use GetMyCloset as a platform to sell their designs and expand their reach. And while the goal of GetMyCloset is to build an active community on the site, Ohana recognises the need to promote the site via existing social media channels. "Blogs, Webzines and Facebook are the new sources of inspiration for style, right up there with the best fashion press.," says Ohana. "We are trying to put ourselves out there by reaching out to the blogosphere, tweeting loudly, and showing all Facebook the best of customers' uploads!"

Waze Wants Women: Contest Offers Free iPad

Waze is a smartphone application that provides FREE crowdsourced GPS navigation for the consumer, including voice-guided turn-by-turn directions. Users can send live road reports to other users, tweet from the road, share pictures of hazards to let people know why there is a hold up, chat with other drivers, and check in to Foursquare and other location based apps.

Alli Magidsohn, Waze's MarcComm Director, contacted me about a promotion they are holding to attract more women. According to Magidsohn, "We’re a technology start up that loves our users, but there's a small problem – they’re almost all boys!...We’ve been asking ourselves about where all the waze* girlpower is for a while now, and today we’ve finally decided to take action: If you’re a girl gadget geek who loves getting involved in trendsetting technology projects, then waze wants you. We’re looking for ladies to become wazers and to start contributing to the driving communities in their areas. And as a small incentive to help attract more female attention to our app, we’re giving away an iPad to a randomly selected wazerette on June 17."

How to make yourself eligible to win an iPad:


1- Retweet this message on Twitter: Ladies: Help bring girlpower to waze’s free social GPS app for your chance to win a shiny new iPad! Details here: bit.ly/cqg2Rn
2 - Download waze, if you haven’t already. Make sure to register your email address in the registration process, or in yours settings, so we’ll be able to contact you, should you be the lucky winner!
3- Post one ‘chit chat’ on the waze map with the message “Girlpower!” Note that to send a ‘chit chat’, all you have to do is to click the ‘report’ button, click the purple and blue ‘chit chat’ icon, type your message, and then click send.

*Please note that the contest is open to women only.
** Webutantes is not affiliated with Waze, will have no part in the selection process, and did not receive any financial compensation for this post.

Women Comfortable with Targeting but Want Value Adds from Advertisers

A recent eMarketer report featured research from Q Interactive revealed that women 88% of women would like to see more targeted advertising from brands they trust. Only 11% of women said targeted online ads were "weird" and nearly two-thirds of women said targeted ads were "cool."


According to Emily Girolamo, VP Marketing and Corporate Communications at Q Interactive, "Women...are creating new expectations of brands, agencies and marketers. They are past any fear or suspicion when they get a targeted ad online—and now just expect, want and seek out brands online with meaning for their busy lives." 

The types of targeting women seek are those that add value. Almost two-fifths of respondents said brands were “good partners" if they sent relevant information that women needed and used, while another one-fifth said good partners were those who were straightforward about deals and offers. Deals and discounts were a tactic that almost 60% of respondents said they would want to see more of. David Hallerman, an eMarketer senior analyst, said, "Offers such as discounts and deals appeal to most consumers." However, he cautions that, "A number of surveys reveal significantly divergent perspectives among consumers about the intersection of privacy, data collected about them and their relationship with targeted online advertising."

Word of Mouth Influences 81% of Moms' Purchasing Decisions

eMarketer recently released the results of a survey of online moms by EXPO, a video review site. 92% of respondents reported trusting consumer reviews' product descriptions, while only 8% trusted the description provided by the manufacturer, meaning that moms are12x more likely to trust consumers. Word of mouth also highly influenced respondents' purchasing decisions.

In a list of possible sources,  81% of moms surveyed reported word of mouth influencing a recent purchasing decision. It ranked second, after in-store promotions such as special sales (86%). Respondents unsurprisingly ranked traditional sources, such as newpaper inserts, consumer information magazines, and TV broadcasts high on their list. But nearly a quarter listed email advertising and 18% claimed that banner ads impacted their purchasing decisions.

Latest Facebook Stats: 57% of Users are Women

Industry blog Inside Facebook recently released the August 2009 statistics for the #1 social networking site. According to Nielsen, Facebook's had than 87 million US visitors during the month of June, compared with less than 63 million US MySpace visitors that month. Women continue to take the lead on Facebook as 45.4 million women make up 57% of the site's visitors.

As Facebook continues to grow, however, its demographics keep shifting. Although more women use Facebook than men, men have made up the majority of audience growth. In August 2009 , the highest growth category was males ages 13 to 17, whose numbers increased by 14.5%, followed by men ages 45 to 54, rising 12.8%. Among women, the highest growth was in the 45 to 54 and 55 to 65 age ranges, which were up 11.8% and 11%, respectively.

Relevancy is Key When Targeting Women Online

Online marketing firm Prospectiv recently conducted a consumer survey targeting women online. The study, which surveyed over 1000 women, found that relevancy is crucial when it comes to marketing communications online. The results also pointed to some key differences between women with children and those without.

Some of the highlights:

• Women want to see information that is relevant to their lifestyle. This is particularly relevant for mothers: 45% of mothers said they are most interested in receiving marketing information that pertains to their lifestyle, vs. 30% of non-moms.


• Moms are more flexible than non-moms about email marketing. Only 20% of moms said,
  "Don't send me anything at all," while 35% of non-mothers said the same.


• Nearly half of respondents (45%) to the Prospectiv survey said that brands can communicate with them most effectively through product samples offered online. Respondents who are mothers were more in favor than non-mothers of product samples (47% vs. 38%, respectively.)


• 39% of survey respondents said trying a sample would most likely get them to purchase a product. The other options were: having a coupon to use, necessity, or receiving a personal recommendation.


• Coupons were also viewed as an effective marketing tool. 53% of the women surveyed had
  clipped coupons and 18% had redeemed online coupons in the past year.


• 35% of repsondents said they are reluctant to share information such as email address, age, and gender, but 71% would share that information to receive discounts, promotional offers, and coupons.

45.4 Million US Women on Facebook

Remember the days when social networking was a male dominated activity, particularly for older demographics? According to Inside Facebook's latest figures, those days are long gone. The August 2009 breakdown of US Facebook users revealed women outnumbered men by at least 1.2 million in every age demographic.

While those results were obvious for the 13-17, 18-25, and 26-34 year old categories, they came as a pleasant surprise for the 35-44, 45-54, and 55-65 year olds. They are a combined presence of 45.4 million women, making up over 52% of the 87 million Americans on Facebook.