new sales platform uses facebook

14 July 2010

A new application that allows fashion designers and boutiques to sell their collections via Facebook fan or profile pages has taken the world of online retail by storm.

Melbourne and New York based digital technology company Portable last week launched a new Facebook Shopping application as part of its fashion platform Portable Shops, enabling businesses to operate their own online store through Facebook.

Portable's creative director Andrew Apostola said the new application was part of a growing trend of online shoppers using Facebook to research brands and clothing.

"Over the past six months we were noticing that close to 70 per cent of purchases were being made by customers who had linked from Facebook," he said. "Rather than distracting users, we decided to allow people to buy from where they spend most of the time: on Facebook".

Businesses simply need to sign up to use the application and install it into their profile page or fan page. Portable charges a monthly fee to use the application along with a range of other services

Since launching in November 2009, Portable now powers the online stores of over 40 labels including Arnsdorf, TV, Sara Phillips, Karla Spetic, Therese Rawsthorne and Carly Hunter. Josh Goot and Akira (pictured) will both be launching online stores using Portable Shops over the next month.

The platform is also launching in the United States this month.