The rise of social network shopping

Online shopping has been greatly spurred by social media, but up until now it is mostly third-party apps which completed transactions, from visiting a store page on Facebook to being re-directed to a brand's website, to making the final payment. Shopify, for example, allows users to click on product images on Facebook and Twitter and then manages the payment via its own servers.

Whilst Facebook, the world's most successful social media platform, last month announced it was testing options to purchase directly from its business and brand pages, an app called Depop has quickly been garnering popularity allowing all users to sell their fashion, with many citing it as a platform where eBay meets Instagram.

Bloggers, especially commercial blogs, are already using the site, which since its lauch has over two million downloads and one million products are being listed on the site each month.

Users favour streamlined uploading

Consumers who look to online platforms to sell their clothing require simplicity, such as uploading product photos they want to sell to their profile page and at the same time building up a personal feed featuring the products being sold by people they're following.

Similar to eBay, on Bepop products are purchased through the app with PayPal managing payments. When a platform offers a greating streamlining in the uploading and payment processes, consumers are more inclined to shop. At the same time users need to be able to like products, post comments, negotiate prices via private chat, and share their activity via other social networks.

Mass retailers are also testing new shopping platforms

Apart from bloggers and consumer sellers, mass retailers and big brands including Asos, Monki, and Goodhood have been testing the Bepop platform by selling off samples, dead stock and past-season product.

As are high end designers like London Fashion Week designer Katie Eary, who turn to outside platforms to reach a wider audience where they can sell exclusives and unique items that may be difficult to sell via a complicated website.

Succesful platform should have democratic demographic

Early analysis of Bepop's demographic is very interesting, with almost a 50:50 split in male and female users, primarily in the 18-36 age bracket, which means that it is avoiding the issues currently being faced by eBay, which is perceived to skew older, and those of Pinterest, which is very female focused.

From a consumer perspective, an app where users can shop the wardrobes of other like-minded people is both engaging and commercially interesting. As apps evolve, shopping becomes more directly about emulating people whose style users admire, and thus more personal. For example, bloggers can take advantage of their following and sell products already featured on their sites.