ShopCorn.in: Social Shopping Community

[Ceres]

I came across ShopCorn.in, which states to be India's first Social Shopping Community.

The portal offers all the major benefits of offline shopping to online shoppers. Via this website, Indian e-shoppers can:

- chat live with other shoppers (via text, voice or video)
- upload/exchange shopping links
- 'kick a bad deal' or 'pick a good deal'
- use compare and save feature
- read and write reviews
- upload shopping-related videos from YouTube

Social shopping might not be everyone's cup of tea, but nevertheless I think it's an original and great idea.

So, are you a social shopper?

[msdomains]

Ceres,

I might be wrong but I think Storrz Social Shopping| Discover, Share and Shop with Friends was the 1st Indian social shopping site. It was also featured at proto.in in 2008. Some history and media coverage is listed on their site - Media @ Storrz.com

Some concepts of sharing external deals info, chatting with co-shoppers etc., might be unique to the shopcorn.in, however, execution would be the key.

My understanding is that storrz was having difficulty signing up companies to list as stores on their site, and also to get regular buyers. Storrz launched the social side to their website about 9months to an year ago, and still their community is not exactly buzzing with activity- Storrz People :: Storrz | Online Shopping Mall India= .

I hope shopcorn does better than Adsense for a business model. This is like a patient hoping that the glucose in the bottle doesn't dry out. Adsense is not an eternal money machine- as a consumer, it is a big irritant in any website.

All said, good luck to shopcorn and hope they can be successful.

[Ceres]

I might be wrong but I think Storrz Social Shopping| Discover, Share and Shop with Friends was the 1st Indian social shopping site.

Hi msdomains,

Thanks very much for the info. I don't know enough about Storrz or ShopCorn to know which one launched first (I just went by the statement on ShopCorn's website).

Adsense is not an eternal money machine- as a consumer, it is a big irritant in any website.

From a consumer's point of view, I would find it acceptable to see 'just a few' Adsense ads on a website. However, if a website crossed the line and showed 'too many' AdSense ads, I'd automatically think 'spammy website.'

[msdomains]

Ceres,

You are right - as a consumer, a certain level of adsense is acceptable from a information point as well. However, too many ads (adsense or not), coupled with their placement could result in visual distraction from the main content. Users might be tempted to stay away from such websites for a long time!

Just a thought - Google places less ads on their own websites and also quite discreetly - a lesson for the rest of us?

[shopcorn]

@ceres & @msdomains : Thanks for the mention. regarding comparison with Storrz, the deals uploaded there are done by the merchant / Storrz themselves & there's no control of users in the same. Whereas in Shopcorn the difference is that the deals are uploaded by users & then other users have the power to KICK a bad deal & PICK a good deal. This way only the top deals remain there in the system.

Regarding the revenue model, we earn commission on sale & give a % of the same as reward points to the customers, everytime the product gets sold. This way the customers also earn for their efforts of uploading the deal.

You would find deals from Some of India's top online merchants like Indiatimes, Rediff, Shoppersstop, FnP etc. in the deals box. We are working towards getting maximum merchants on board with us & there would be some cool new community features added soon (photos, forum etc.) in the portal.

We are also doing a Bloggers' Contest whereby we are giving away One LCD TV, 8 Photon+ wireless Broadband USB Modem & 15 Chrono watches as gifts. You just need to write a review about shopcorn & send us the Blogpost. You may checkout the details at : Participate In Bloggers Contest 2009 - By PeppySophia (Last date of submission is 31st May).

As the concept is new we request customer feedbacks & incase you have any suggestions & feedback please do not hesitate to send it to sophia@shopcorn.in

Thanks for reading this far.

regards

Vishwalok Nath
Co-Founder & Business Development Head
Shopcorn Online Pvt. Ltd

[Ceres]

Welcome Vishwalok, and thanks for stopping by.

Thank you for clarifying the difference between Storrz and Shopcorn.

How does the reward points system work? Do users get a discount on goods when they redeem their points?

[shopcorn]

The users can redeem the corns (reward points) for gifts through us. However, we are talking to a leading Loyalty programme company and maybe we would convert the reward points into a new currency & then it can be redeemed at several outlets & websites.

We believe that Shopping is a FUN activity and its not just a requirement. When we go out for offline shopping, we have lots of fun but while doing the same activity online the fun factor is lost. Our motto is to bring the Fun back in Online Shopping. You may check out this PPT to take a view of our concept : Shopcorn - India's 1st Social Shopping Community

Regards

[Ceres]

The users can redeem the corns (reward points) for gifts through us. However, we are talking to a leading Loyalty programme company and maybe we would convert the reward points into a new currency & then it can be redeemed at several outlets & websites

It's always great to have options.

You may check out this PPT to take a view of our concept : Shopcorn - India's 1st Social Shopping Community

I like the presentation. Hey, I've never telephoned a friend to ask for help to shop for a pair of jeans. However, I know plenty of people who have done this.

Best of luck with Shopcorn. No doubt, it will appeal to many e-shoppers.

[msdomains]

Hi Vishwalok,

Kudos that you have actually taken the time to join the forum and reply to this discussion. Participation in the community is what makes a good community or social shopping site.

Good luck.