I confess: I have a shopping addiction. With free shipping and return, I have got into the habit of ordering everything that I think “may” look good on me (Ok, I also am an optimist. Shut up!) from Myhabit.com and Gilt.com.
As a matter of fact, I am wearing these right now (fresh from the UPS box I just opened). And it’s almost 2 am.
NOT me.
Not me either
So, yeah, my addiction, fortunately, is more like a shopping AND RETURNING addiction.
UPS and USPS. I am looking at you. I am single-handedly keeping you both in business.
Tonight, Gilt.com rolled out a beta called Gilt LIVE.
See what members are buying right now!
Images of goods that have been sold populate your screen one after the other. I was supposed to be in bed about an hour ago, yet I have been staring at my screen. Mesmerized.
This is consumerism unfolding itself live in front of our very eyes.
You get to watch our economy being rescued from a potential recession one shoe at a time.
Whoever came up with the idea of Gilt LIVE is a genius and deserve a huge bonus and promotion. I am so serious about this I am pondering writing Gilt Groupe a letter to put in my $0.02. As I watch the live stream of things that’re sold artfully morph into each other and the discreetly small box at the corner discreetly alert me that they are almost gone, it’s rather tempting to at least click on the images and see WHY they are so popular. What’s more, to be 100% honest, a part of me feels more confident buying something that others have rushed to buy because “it must have been a great deal!” “The dress probably does not look as ridiculous once you put it on!” otherwise people would not have bought it in droves, right?
A self-fulfilling prophecy if there is one.
I am so amazed by the genius in this move, yet at the same time I am amazed why nobody else had thought of this sooner. Being a data nerd and a marketing/strategy person, I am dying to know how much additional sales Gilt LIVE brings in and how quickly, and how many idiots like me click on the images as they rapidly scroll by as if we are at an arcade playing Whac-a-Mole…