Facebook and HauteLook's Sample Sales

Facebook is known well for its strong ability to keep communication lines open between friends and family, and to provide platforms for play, like Farmville. A blog in the New York Times says that it also provides an excellent platform for seasonal sale announcements.

HauteLook has always relied on notifications by email to drive the demand forward for its sample sales online, and it is announcing plans to send sample sales online to Facebook.

This company specializes in luxury clothes for men, women and children, and upscale packages for home furnishings, and travel. They have taken note that their members spend roughly a third of online time at Facebook. So, they have decided to capitalize on that time.

The CEO of HauteLook has acknowledged that his company needs to move from email in-boxes and toward Facebook, for its sales. This intuitive marketing technique will be expected to land at the site where their shoppers are spending time, rather than being a place people only go for shopping.

HauteLook has partnered with several notable brands to take its sample sales onto Facebook. These partners include Diane Von Furstenberg's clothing lines and Carol's Daughter, a company that creates beauty products.

If you follow HauteLook partner companies on Facebook, you will receive notices of upcoming flash sales on their Facebook feed. You will still need to register with HauteLook to purchase sale items, but you can make your purchase right from Facebook.

This Facebook push may demonstrate that social commerce may be critical in the coming months, to drive success for e-commerce companies. If their attempt proves to be successful, we may expect to see many retailers following suit.

HauteLook has enjoyed a great deal of momentum since it was launched in 2007. It reached profitability early this year. The company expects to do over $100 million this year in sales. HauteLook has almost four million members now, and the Facebook campaign is expected to drive these numbers even higher.

If you're tired of standing in lines the day after Thanksgiving for the best buys, you'll enjoy scoring great deals on brand names simply by logging into Facebook. If you “like” the company at Facebook, you'll be automatically eligible for sales that will range from 50 to 70% off, and you can buy from the comfort of Facebook. After you make a purchase, you may want to share it from your wall, which will let everyone in your social network know about the bargains available. It's called in-stream shopping, and it may well be the shopping wave of the future.