As the CMO of eBags, Wilson was able to share with the Shop.org Summit attendees first hand experiences from both eBags and Handbags.com in the session “Social Commerce in the Trenches.” While Facebook is not the only social network out there, with 750 million active users worldwide, it was bound to be the focus.

With users spending over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook, the challenge for retailers becomes losing people. How? A retailer’s website may say “Like us on Facebook.” So the average shopper clicks through to like the page, sees the brand’s page, then notices that today is cousin Megan’s birthday. So the shopper heads over Megan’s page to send birthday wishes, finds a new photo album from a recent vacation and just like that… you’ve lost them. It’s stickier than fly paper.

Handbags.com set out first to understand their customer and then to create a social cycle that would both utilize Facebook’s feature-rich platform and achieve the benefits that every retailer wants. The first thing eBags realized is that handbag shoppers want different things than those shopping for, say, luggage. Handbag shoppers don’t spend as much time looking at reviews. They can decide for themselves if the bag is cute. They just need to know that the zipper isn’t going to fall off. They give a lot of weight to what their friends think of a handbag. On the other hand, none of my friends has ever asked me if I liked their new piece of luggage.

So how do you create a social cycle that keeps that demographic focused on the retail brand or site, and not stuck in Facebook? One tactical example Wilson gave was the social toolbar at the bottom of their website. From there, if you share the website with friends you’ll earn a $25 coupon for every three friends that also sign-up. The key is, you do all that without ever going to the Facebook site. You log in to handbags.com with your Facebook credentials, pull up your favorite Facebook friends, and share the site. And there you’ll be, still on handbags.com, ready to spend your $25 coupon.

That’s not the only Facebook tool on handbags.com that manages to use the network to share, while still keeping the customer on the site. Want to recommend the new Botkier bag to your friends? You can do that from Handbags.com. Want to register for the site with your Facebook account, and not have to fill out a new user form? You can do that on the site. Want to see which of your friends “likes “Handbags.com? No need to go to Facebook, just look at the Handbags.com homepage and look for your friends’ familiar faces.

Regardless of whether Facebook is too sticky for retailers, it’s a key component of social shopping and therefore should not ignored. Thankfully, there are deep social commerce integrations that allow retailers to utilize Facebook’s strengths and keep the retail brand front and center.

• Anne Ashbey, VP, Internet Marketing, Harry & David
• Peter Cobb, Co-Founder, eBags
• Misty Locke, Co-Founder and President, Range Online Media
• Chris Wilson, VP, E-commerce, L.L. Bean, Inc.

• Troy Brown, Senior Director and General Manager, The Timberland Company
• Chuck Davis, Chairman and CEO, Fandango
• Patti Freeman Evans, Research Director, Senior Analyst, Retail, JupiterResearch
• John McAteer, Head of Retail, Google, Inc.

Shop.org holds Board of Director elections every summer.  In 2009, the members will vote for six new retail Directors and three new non-retail executives.  It’s not too late to think about tossing your hat in the ring for next year.  Please feel free to talk to any of the current Board members at our upcoming events or drop me a line to learn more.