Myself with Kristina O’Connor

Kristina O’Connor may have studied Spanish and Italian at Birmingham University for four years but her passion is online retail.

Having beta launched Store Society, at the end of last year, Kristina is now tasked with developing phase two of the website with a relaunch which took place last month.

I recently caught up with Kristina (whose father is a TV favourite) to find out more about Store Society.

What is Store Society to the average fashion shopper?

Right now, many would think of Store Society as a social network.

The site connects fashion lovers with each other allowing them to share their latest looks and be inspired by each other’s style.

Members have the standard social network tools available to them such as status updates, messaging, recommending, rating, following and befriending, but Store Society is much more than that.

Store Society relaunched August 2009

How does Store Society help boutiques?

If you are a fashion retailer you can get your store listed on Store Society now, for free, which allows you to engage with our members.

Simply filling in location and opening hours is enough to be useful to a user.

However, upload your logo and add some product, and instantly your store becomes discoverable in our browse and search functions.

Stores can promote products, sales and offers directly to members. This is useful for stores that aren’t yet online; it gives them a presence with the intention of assisting footfall.

Retailers who do operate transactional sites can deep-link their items to product pages on their own websites. All free.

Do you see Store Society as an alternative to a boutique creating a website, or is it more of a promotional tool for them?

I’ve spoken with a number of boutique owners who say that they just don’t have the time or money to build a decent website.

Store Society gives stores a professional online presence that is quick and simple to create and very easy to maintain, with instant traffic from the UK and beyond.

The majority of independents don’t have transactional sites, which is something Store Society is working on.

Stores will be able to sell directly from the site in the near future.

Myself with Kristina O’Connor at the London Fashion Network’s first birthday party

As a new media entrepreneur you must have picked up a few technical learnings on the way.

Every day I’m learning something new! I would say the most significant thing I’ve learned so far is the importance of social media, full stop.

As more people choose to shop online, the use of social media is increasingly important as a way for stores to attract attention in a crowded market place.

Through social media, stores can create a personality and communicate directly with their customers, helping to engender loyalty and generate traffic, which in turn leads to sales. Communicate first, sell second.

Name three of your favourite fashion websites?

Peter Versus Toby - An Australian boutique with a sense of humour and some fantastic prints.

Doc Dog - A Brazilian with some really fresh yet feminine designs.

Billy Boyce Clothing - A London based boutique all about funky contemporary street fashion.

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Check out Store Society