Heather Hopkins writing on her Hitwise blog said that the number two source of traffic to the popular UK online fashion store TopShop.co.uk was their MySpace profile on the social networking site. That was five times as much as they had a year ago.
The traffic from MySpace (NWS-A) has grown to the point of driving almost three times as much to the site as Yahoo (YHOO) and MSN (MSFT) search combined. It accounts for 5 percent of all traffic driven to the site.
The profile itself describes the store as a 24-year old, single women looking for friends and opportunities to network, and doesn't want children.
Commenting on why this is becoming a steady, growing driver of traffic to the site, Heather said, "It is not solely a result of demographics. Miss Selfridge and New Look attract a similar demographic profile of young women, but do not enjoy the same volume of traffic from MySpace. The success seems a result of participation in the community and targeted offers. Topshop has a profile on MySpace with a blog that includes special offers and discounts."
I think she's right in her assessment. The company didn't simply throw up a profile and say goodbye, rather their participation and targeted, special and discount offers keep people coming back and apt to share with others the experience they're obviously enjoying. It should help them continue to grow from the MySpace profile they set up; something a lot of online marketers need to seriously consider.
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