The e-tailer will integrate the interactive element, dubbed The Community, into its shopping site and offer customers an insight into how the business works. It is set to make its debut within the next two months.
The networking site will feature blogs and profiles of several members of the Asos team, and users will have the opportunity to see behind the scenes at the fashion e-tailer. It will also feature a personal shopper, who will be on hand to answer style questions and help find the right products for occasions.
Asos marketplace and community director James Hart has used social networking site Twitter to gauge interest in online interaction and ask customers to suggest a name.
He said on a blog: “We genuinely want to get to know our customers. What we are launching is a way for our customers to talk to us directly and transparently, to talk to each other and to help develop Asos into something even better.”
Maternity and babywear retailer Mothercare was one of the first retailers to launch a social networking site, Gurgle, in 2007. But unlike Gurgle and operations such as HMV’s Get Closer, The Community will run on Asos’ website and offer a high level of interaction between Asos staff and its customers.
Sources close to the e-tailer said the new channel will be followed by the launch of Asos Marketplace later this year. This will provide a platform for customers to sell their own goods online, similar to Amazon.
It is understood that Asos is hoping to leverage the level of trust that The Community will establish ensure the success of Marketplace.
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