Asda social networking site imminent
Supermarket giant Asda is to launch a social networking site designed to allow consumers to interact with the brand more freely.
Originally planned to launch today (10 August), it was still not live at 3pm and the URL remained unknown.
A spokesperson confirmed the site would be launched within days.
The site, called Your Asda, with be separate from Asda’s main website but will link through to it.
There will also be an area dedicated to Asda staff, called The Green Room, intended to create transparency within the company.
Social networking sites have increasingly been used by retailers to engage consumers in a two-way dialogue.
Waitrose launched an online community in February, dubbed MyWaitrose, which acts as an online tasting panel.
Members are rewarded with monthly special offers to taste and critique new as well as existing products, and are invited to meet Waitrose Buyers at VIP customer tasting events.
The site gives members behind the scenes access to the development of new products and to the food producers that create them, which aims to involve customers in shaping the food that appears on Waitrose shelves.
Waitrose has also launched an ezine in November to interact with its customers via forums, user votes and user-generated content such as videos.
“Engaging with our customers via online, interactive channels is something we have been doing for some time. These channels enable us to reach and engage with a much wider audience, in a format which is relevant to them,” says a Waitrose spokesperson.
Online fashion retailer Asos.com launched its own online community to form closer relationships with shoppers.
