Luvocracy: The Pinterest-like site for Shopaholics

Similar to Pinterest in layout and design, Luvocracy is a new San Francisco-based social network that launched into beta last fall.

On Pinterest, users can pin any kind of inspirational content that interests them, such as clothing, recipes, vacations spots, and diy project, to share with friends and other pinners. Luvocracy also allows its users to collect content to share on social sites, however the content of the startup site is limited to products that are currently for sale, aiming its focus towards shopping instead of random photos and how-to tutorials.

Luvocracy was built on the concept that consumers are more likely to buy products that are recommended to them by friends. This is more than just a theory according to Nielsen’s ‘Global Trust in Advertising Survey’, which found that 92% of consumers consider word of mouth the most trustworthy form of advertising.

How Luvocracy Works

The clutter free site allows users to collect all manner of looks and products that are for sale, and to tack them to categorized boards. Consumers can also repin products posted by friends, brands, and designers. Posting products from any retailer is made easy with the downloadable Luvocracy plug-in.

The creative director of Luvocracy, Christine Martinez, explained the workings of the innovative new shopping platform to Mashable, saying, “We wanted to build a platform where you could see products recommended from everyone you trust in one place, so you can sift through it like a personalized catalog. You can showcase what you discover too or put it in your ‘backroom,’ which is only visible to you.”

User Rewards

The most interesting aspect of Luvocracy is that the company also gives consumers an incentive to use the site by offering a small commission on sales generated by their posted product recommendations. For example, if you post a recommendation for a new product at Macy’s and one of your followers buy that product, you will be rewarded with either a mailed check or a credit toward future on-site purchases. This could become a great motivator for shoppers to post a number of quality recommendations, and the more followers you have, the more likely you are to reap rewards.

Request an Invite and Start Shopping

Although the site is still in beta, you can request an invite by going to http://www.luvocracy.com/  and joining the “recommended life”. While Luvocracy has yet to announce how many users have joined the site so far, the company claims that the list of memberships is indeed growing.

Though there are similarities between Pinterest and Luvocracy, it’s unlikely that the two sites will be competitors. More likely is the possibility that Pinterest will be where you go when you want to be inspired, and Luvocracy will be the site to visit when you want to shop. Could this innovative advertising concept become a common and fun way to do business in the near future?

[Image via dreamsandjeans]