Recommend to a friend online; collect a reward
Online social network is establishing a bigger foothold in retail with Buy.com’s announced acquisition of Metails.com. Metails is an online social network with a difference: peer rewards. Network members can host product links to buying opportunities on partner retail sites when mentioning products in the pages and blogs they create on Metails. When other network members click on the hosted link and make a purchase, the link host collects a reward.
It’s the opportunity for individuals to host product links on purely personal content for distribution to friends and associates that distinguishes this user network within the growing phenomenon of online social networking. The medium is a fit for the youth market which constitutes a key component of Buy.com’s target market.
“The connection between social networking and online commerce is a natural fit for Buy.com,” says Neel Grover, Buy.com president. “The acquisition extends our reach to a core audience of young consumers who have literally grown up online, and who are continuing to expand their personal networks online.”
Adds Jared Morgenstern, Metails CEO and founder, “This partnership allows Metails to rapidly expand its consumer database and product offerings as we deliver the world’s first consumer-centric shopping experience.”
Though Metails hasn’t disclosed the size of its online user community, in recent months the number of network members who’ve chosen to host product links on their own pages has grown at the rate of about 10% a month, according to a company spokeswoman. About half of the network`s members have chosen to host prodcut links or as the network puts it, "associate themselves" with specific products.
Metails launched online in 2001, and the ability to host product links has been part of the model since its inception. It expects to roll out a dual award program shortly in which the head of the network receives a reward valued at approximately 2% to 5% of the value of the purchase and the buyer of the product receives a discount on the product price.
Given the buzz around online social networking relative to networking sites such as Friendster, online marketers have been looking for potential commercial applications. Personal networks are an element of the online auction offering recently announced by Overstock.com.
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