This week’s question comes from Graywolf (cool name BTW) – he asks:
What do you think about sites such as Styledash.com? What are your initial impressions? Would you buy from it? What do you think of a site like this? What would it take for someone you didn’t know to influence your buying decisions online?
My first impression of Styledash.com was that I could read the same material in a magazine. From the gossip articles to the latest fashion styles, it all seemed too familiar. On the home page there was a little article about Lindsay Lohan being drunk and going into rehab once again. This article went on to talk about how she was opening a fashion bar in NYC, but all of it reminded me of something someone would read in “People.” The other articles had to do with other fashions from different countries and news about designers splitting or collaborating. Once I thought about this site more, I figured that this site would be good for people who don’t read magazines and who prefer to read everything online.
After seeing the homepage, I wanted to check out what kinds of things I could buy from this site so I clicked on one of the category links. I liked how there were little paragraphs giving fashion advice about each of the products, and then told you about the product instead of just giving you a picture and a price. It was also nice that the certain categories listed celebrity styles and new trends according to what you clicked on. Although that’s pretty much what any magazine would do.
I think I would be able to find something on this site to buy because I love to shop and get new things. But this site doesn’t “wow” me that much. There are some nice clothes, accessories, and fashion advice, but I don’t really have the need to use a site like this. I think the only reason I would come back to this site would be if I needed fashion advice or if I didn’t have a magazine with me to read. 
I think this kind of site would reach out to adults more then teens. Many teens including myself already have our online shopping sites that we are familiar with. For example I like:
These sites are appealing to me because its the actual store, the products that they have are my style, and searching for something that I want is easy to do (unlike Styledash where you have to click on links a couple times and scroll down the pages more.)
For someone to influence my buying decisions they would have to be truthful about their products. For example if I buy a high quality shirt or hoodie and the first day I wear it the zipper breaks, or a button pops off I won’t be too thrilled. No one likes a shady seller! The person that will be influencing me should know the facts about the products and all of my questions should be answered easily through the site or an actual person. No one should be sent on a wild goose chase to just find a pair of jeans.
I don’t know if someone that I didn’t know at all could persuade me to buy something online. I think I would have had to at least heard of them or what they’ve done. Like if they are the editor if a magazine then I might listen to what they have to say about a product. Or if they were a fashion designer and I’ve heard of their clothes. I guess if I started reading a blog regularly and liked the author’s style I might buy something based on a recommendation after a while.
So, even though this site didn’t appeal to me that much, it did give some good tips. I’m certain that this type of site is better for an adult crowd but not so much for teens. Thanks for reading.
** Editor’s note: Want to get your questions answered by Kayla and be featured on 10e20? If so please send them in via our contact form and be as detailed as possible.
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Editor’s note: I would like to introduce a new author to 10e20 – Kayla. Kayla is a highschool junior in New York working for 10e20 part-time on projects with a teen target market. She will be contributing from time to time here at 10e20.com to give you a teen’s perspective on things online. I got so much out of my friend Dean’s guest blogger Jessica that I wanted to continue the conversation…
Many teens today are very particular about the websites that they use. From what the website is selling, to the cursors that are being used on them. It is all very important. Usually when I am searching the web for either research papers or just on my free time checking out new stuff, I look at the site as a whole first instead of reading the first sentence or looking at the first thing I see. If there is not a lot of colors and everything is pretty much letters and a blank/boring background, I won’t stay on that page even if it is informative. For example:
This page is just links, no pics, and a white background. All of the links could lead to something that a person has been looking for, but no one wants to click on all of those boring links until they find what they want. By the time someone got to what he/she was looking for they probably wouldn’t want it anymore or they would forget what it was that they were looking for in the first place.
A good website that I have gone on many times to buy or look for shoes is:
If you look at Zappo’s site as a whole its not the prettiest or most interesting page, but it is easy to follow and you know whats going on and what will happen when you click on one of the buttons. So in the end its all worth it.
Some of the most awesome websites that teens enjoy are Official band websites. For example:
For Guster’s site the first thing you see is a cool animated picture that shows the band is really original and cool. Seeing this gets me interested in the page and makes me want to learn more about the band. I like how when you scroll down everything you need to know about the band is right there waiting for you to read or look at.
For The Killers site, I like how the first thing you see is a bright colored page that is sort of mysterious that links you to the official page. So its exciting to see what comes next. And once you get on the actual page there is background noises, and a cool background picture. Another fun thing about this page is that the links move around and don’t just sit there like normal pages. The uniqueness of these pages gets the teens hooked and helps the bands become more popular in the world.
Other sites like www.Burton.com and www.iFrogz.com are easy to explore and their home pages are very cool. You can tell that they really know how to sell their products.
To me and many of my friends, its not so much of “what” you sell, it’s really about “how” you sell it to grab the attention of us.
Editor’s Note: This post came from a simple question I posed to Kayla (via a text message) – Forget social networks for a minute and tell me what do you and your friends like & dislike online? Some of her choices made me shudder (complete Flash websites) but also reinforced my belief of: give your target audience what they want. If you have specific questions for Kayla that you would like to learn more about – please feel free to ask.
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