Having established itself as a customer service superstar in the world of e-commerce, Zappos is now the brand benchmark for giving customers the best possible user experience with online purchases. A new bra shopping site launched yesterday and the company is touting itself as the “the Zappos for bras.” One blogger for the Huffington Post gave it a try, filling out a detailed profile about size, past bra purchases, future preferences and the like. The site uses an algorithm to match shoppers with products according to their responses.
Jessica Pearce Rotondi (the blogger in question) came away from her experience feeling like she had just signed up for an online dating service, comparing the online retailers system of matching customers to the way sites like OKCupid pair individuals for possible love matches. The question this brings to our mind is: do women want to shop for lingerie in this way?
When we visited Brayola, the site in question, we were struck by the simplicity of the design. The main page (still in beta) has a bright pink background with the image of a white lingerie chest of drawers. The headline reads “Discover your next favorite bra, in a simple, private and fun way.” This idea of offering women privacy while lingerie shopping is interesting, in contrast with the shopping experience offered by lingerie retailer Victoria’s Secret. There’s nothing private about the often crowded retail store or the fuschia pink shopping bags announcing to everyone you’ve made a purchase. But when did bra shopping become something so covert?
It’s possible that Brayola is attempting to reach a different audience altogether from Victoria’s Secret, perhaps a more modest one? Or maybe the convenience the site claims to offer will be its best selling point. At the time this post was written the site had nearly 3,000 Facebook fans. As with any type of product attempting to market to women, it always comes back to what women want. With this new online lingerie retailer, only time will tell. But we’re interested to see whether it lives up to its claims as “the Zappos for bras.”
FletcherPR is a national communications firm that specializes in reaching women through the power of media. Headquartered in Knoxville, TN with staff in Nashville & Los Angeles, we are a full-service agency providing strategic public relations, social media and marketing communications services to our clients throughout the U.S.