So far, my tales of social shopping have been limited to After a Fashion outings in Second Life. Thanks to The ChickAdvisor Shop Crawl, I was recently initiated into real life social shopping.Jenny and I started right at 6 p.m. sharp. First stop, CHANGE, the Scandinavian lingerie chain’s first Canadian location. With CBC’s new Fortune Hunters cameraman following us around for an upcoming episode, it was a bit awkward shopping for undies.
Carole, the assistant manager did her best to put us at ease. In fact, this was the only location where customer service was queen (pardon the pun). We also got $25 gift certificates valid
through January. Of course, we both used ours that night. It was the only time I parted with my money. CHANGE is one store I’ll visit again. ; )I was pumped about C-Squared where we were offered a 20% discount. Jenny scored a sweet pair of chocolate brown Camper pumps.
We made it to the other the other stores on the crawl list as well: Scarpino, Kazuo (reasonable prices, I tried a great coat but it was too big), Fraiche (I’ll be back) and Fashion Crimes. All of them offered 20%-25% off for shop crawlers.
I was disappointed we saved Fashion Crimes for last. The staff refused to stay open past 8 p.m. (the crawl went on until 9) so I didn’t get past their enticing windows. Sucks, huh? Boy, did they pass up an opportunity for new business and leave a bitter taste in many shoppers’ mouths. How unfortunate. Jen and I were hoping to do some shopping there along with my TFBB friends.
The evening ended with a trip to Milestones for bellinis and yummy pizza fresh out of the
oven, swag bags (I’ll be discussing mine in an upcoming post), prize draws and a fashion show put on by shoppers wanting to win their outfits.Social shopping is a phenomenon that’s gaining steam. Groups of people shop together in order to get better prices. As for retailers, it’s a great way to garner publicity for your business, introduce new customers to your store and compete in a competitive marketplace where consumers are becoming more cost-conscious everyday.
Tags: After a Fashion, Ali de Bold, Camper, CHANGE, ChickAdvisor, Fashion Crimes, Fortune Hunters, Fraiche, Kazuo, Milestones, Queen Street, Scarpino, Shop Crawl, TFBB
Hey, no fair -- you said the picture would only be of my feet and my new shoes!!
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Jenny
If it makes you feel any better, I think the cameraman was equally embarrassed about filming you all at CHANGE! He approached me (being so obvious in a ChickAdvisor t-shirt) and asked sheepishly,
ReplyDelete"You didn't pick only lingerie stores, did you?"
When I laughed and assured him that CHANGE was the only one, he heaved a huge sigh of relief (it was almost exaggerated, I thought it was so hilarious). I hope you weren't too put out!
I hasten to add that my earlier comment was meant in a teasing tone -- I fully gave Eden permission to photograph me and I'm actually kind of surprised that the pic is fairly flattering. Usually photos of me make me look like a pale breed of cow. :)
ReplyDeleteJenny
Jenny, I thought the photo looked great otherwise you know it wouldn't have been published. ;)
ReplyDeleteMamaluv, thanks for your comment. I'm sure the cameraman was uncomfortable too. In all fairness to CBC, we were asked if it would be okay to film us. Jenny and I agreed but due to our lack of experience on camera, we had no idea what we were in for. Now I know why Hollywood actors get the big bucks. ; )
Eden
Jenny you look fabulous. We girls are too hard on ourselves. ;)
ReplyDeleteEden I'm so glad you guys could come. It was great to see you again!
Ali, it was great seeing you again too. When is the episode of Fortune Hunters being aired?
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