"Shopping is a very social, interactive experience," Manish Chandra, the CEO and cofounder of social shopping site Kaboodle, told the E-Commerce Times. "Shopping is not just a transactional experience."
Social shopping sites attempt to create an online experience that replicates, to a degree, going to the mall with a group of friends. In the stereotypical mall experience, friends point out products to each other, comment on them, and share stories - all the while bonding as much as they're actually shopping. Online social shopping sites aim to give shoppers a similarly interactive, personal and communal experience.
"It's like going shopping with a friend versus going alone," Chris Kensler, editorial director for social shopping site Stylehive, told the E-Commerce Times. "You get to bounce ideas off of each other and get new ideas. It's the kind of discovery that comes from shopping in a group that makes the site work."
