Licensors and licensees are starting to experiment with social commerce—which fuses online shopping and social media—as a new opportunity for merchandise sales:
- HarperCollins is currently working with Twitter Commerce on a 35%-off promotion for the hardcover movie tie-in edition of Insurgent. The publisher and Twitter are both tweeting about the offer, targeting users who are discussing the book or film.
- Sophie Simmons, model, designer, and one of the stars of the reality show Gene Simmons: Family Jewels, created a capsule collection in fall 2014 for The Style Club, which combines e-commerce, videos, and social networking. A second collection followed, focusing on New Year’s Eve attire, and Simmons became the company’s brand ambassador and creative consultant.
- NFL Players Inc., the licensing arm of the NFL Players Association, announced in August of last year that it was pairing with Stylinity for an initiative allowing users to view “shoppable selfies” of NFL athletes wearing styles of their choosing. Clicking on the photos brings shoppers to participating licensees’ e-commerce sites, where they can make the purchase.
- Sheree Whitfield, one of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, launched a jewelry and accessories collection on the social commerce community Kitsy Lane. The company allows users to launch a boutique where they curate a selection of jewelry and accessories, share their wares through social media tools provided on the site, and earn a commission. Merchandise on the 17,500 boutiques to date includes Kitsy Lane-branded goods, creations of emerging designers, and items selected by celebrity stylists, according to the site.
- Artist Douglas Coupland and sportswear company Roots collaborated on a Twitter pop-up shop of limited-edition apparel and accessories back in May 2014.
While each venture, and each site, follows a slightly different model, collectively they illustrate a movement toward social commerce as a means of both promoting and selling licensed merchandise.
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