Pay using Facebook Likes at Strellson's 'Like Shop'

Strellson, the Swiss-based international men’s fashion and lifestyle brand, is the first retailer to launch a ‘Like Shop’, a new concept in the fashion industry where customers can pay for clothes using their Facebook likes.

The additional website, implemented by Munich design studio Astral, displays 14 products from Strellson's spring/summer 2017 collection that social-media savvy Facebook users can acquire. In order to earn an item users must first share a photo by following the steps on the ‘Like Shop’ to their own Facebook. Afterwards, the first person to earn sufficient likes for the item will receive the item in the photo, with only one of each item in stock.

Items including t-shirts, jumpers and jackets range from 50 to 500 likes, costing around the same price in euros. For example a jacket is worth 250 likes and retails at 239 euros, so users really are earning their items through Likes.

Strellson created the ‘Like Shop’ to turn “online shopping into a fun challenge. It represents a novel way of encouraging young men to shop,” wrote the men’s wear brand in a statement. The ‘Like Shop’ was devised by advertising agency Serviceplan Campaign X and the new platform is part of Strellson’s wider initiative to win over the ‘digital target group’ and appeal to ‘digital natives’ through use of social media.

A spokesperson for the brand confirmed that investing in social media was an important area of growth for Strellson, adding that it "will be included in their business strategy for their fall/winter 17 season."

Through its 'Like Shop' Strellson hopes to "achieve a viral effect by inviting people to like and share posts." But with only one of each item available to earn using likes, the question is how effective can this new initiative really be? Only time will tell.

Strellson first began trading in 1984, when former Hugo Boss owners Jochen and Uwe Holy purchased Friedrich Straehl & Co. After rebranding the company to Strellson, the brand has continued to expand across Europe. Strellson currently counts over 180 stores and stockists around the world, and is available via online retailers Amazon and Zalando.

Photo: Courtesy of Strellson